BEST Southern Red Velvet Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes red velvet cake taste so good? ›

While red velvet cake is technically a cocoa cake, there is a key difference between standard chocolate cake and red velvet cake. Chocolate cake recipes traditionally use Dutch-processed cocoa, while red velvet cake uses unprocessed cocoa, a more acidic ingredient that produces a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor.

Red velvet cake contains baking powder and baking soda to leaven or raise, the height of the batter. ... Although most red velvet cake recipes contain acidic ingredients such as buttermilk and cocoa, the addition of vinegar provides just a little extra acid to ensure the baking soda can do its best rising work.

Not Enough Fat:

Fat is essential for keeping baked goods moist and tender. If you use too little fat in your red velvet cake recipe, the cake can turn out dry. Make sure to use the amount of fat specified in your recipe, and do not substitute with lower-fat ingredients.

The tenderizing buttermilk and vinegar create a texture that's soft, velvety, and full of tangy-rich flavor. The small amount of cocoa allows the other flavors to come through and not be masked with the deep richness that is in a traditional chocolate cake.

Red Velvet cake originates from the United States and is a red vanilla sponge made with buttermilk and cocoa to give its unique flavour and a light taste of chocolate.

The cocoa powder is used in less quantity and the taste develops by the mixing of vinegar and buttermilk with the cocoa powder. The recipe involves many ingredients in small quantity. The frosting- if used cream cheese is an expensive element in itself. It tastes wow if made at home without using any premix.

You could also use lemon juice or cream of tartar. The substitutes should be used in the same quantities as the cider vinegar (i.e. 1 teaspoon each).

The “velvet” in red velvet cake refers to the style of cake and its small, tight-crumbed texture, compliments of the vinegar and baking soda in this recipe. I have baked red velvet cake without this addition of baking soda and vinegar and found the result is a sturdier cake (not-so-velvety) with less flavor.

The Best Cocoa for Red Velvet Cake Is Natural Cocoa

Natural cocoa is the best cocoa for red velvet cake for two reasons. With a higher acidity, natural cocoa works with the cake's baking soda and buttermilk to leaven the cake to a tight, tender crumb. The results are an almost melt-in-your-mouth tender cake.

If you were to use exclusively oil, the cake would turn out much denser than you may have intended. If you're unsure, it's safest to use a 50/50 combination of butter and oil instead of replacing the butter completely.

Why does my red velvet cake sink in the middle? ›

Overbeating, Overmixing, or Undermixing Your Cake Batter

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

The most crucial tip? Instead of buying an entire box of cake flour, simply incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch into 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. This blocks the formation of gluten in the flour, which produces a lighter, fluffier cake.

Why is Guittard Cocoa Rouge the best cocoa powder? Saffitz's—and the BA Test Kitchen's—favorite high-quality brand for Dutch-processed cocoa powder is Guittard Cocoa Rouge. It has complex, bitter tasting notes and yields silky, fudge-like results when baked into desserts.

In this situation, Dutch processed cocoa powder is the best choice since baking soda neutralizes the acid in most cake recipes. So, if you used Dutch-processed cocoa powder instead, the baking soda would not affect the recipe. Cake recipes call for baking soda when the cake ingredients are acidic.

It is starch that will absorb liquid.

That means that too much of it also means a dry-baked good. So to avoid your baked goods from coming out dry, either reduce the amount of flour (by the same amount of cocoa) or increase the amount of liquid in your formula, about 1/4-1/3 cup of liquids per 1/2 cup of powder.

People prefer red velvet cake over any other cake because it is made of Mild chocolate. A study showed that when the cocoa powder and buttermilk are put together, they result in the red color of this cake. For the mild chocolate flavor, you only need to add two spoons of cocoa powder.

The difference between Red Velvet Cake and other cakes are its ingredients and colors. No other layer cake uses buttermilk and vinegar in the recipe. When mixed with cocoa powder, the buttermilk and vinegar cause the chemical reaction that turns the cake red. The vinegar also helps preserve the cake's iconic color.

While Chocolate Cake is made primarily with cocoa powder and sometimes melted chocolate, Red Velvet Cake is made with a small amount of cocoa powder, but is also known for its signature bright red color, which is usually achieved by adding red food coloring to the batter.

How Did Red Velvet Cake End Up Red? Cocoa powder contains an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which is pH-sensitive, meaning it reacts to acids and bases. When raw cocoa powder reacts with acidic ingredients such as buttermilk and vinegar, it turns dark red.