Abigail’s one request that she had for food for her birthday this year was for a Red Velvet cake. I’ll tell you, I really, really didn’t want to make this cake for her. In our quest for eating Real Food, one of the things I’ve been trying to eliminate as much as possible is artificial food dyes. Oh, it still comes in from time to time in the disguise of a soda, cheetoh, glass of kool-aid or a popsicle, but I do try to curb the excessive dye when possible. Using an entire ounce- or two tablespoons of red food coloring in a cake IS excessive. But it was what the birthday princess wanted, so that’s what she got.
The first order of business was hunting down a good recipe. There are many out there- and I even glanced twice at one which used beet juice instead of food coloring. I decided to go with a recommendation from a very reliable recipe source- Epicurious.com.
This Red Velvet cake was designed originally for a fourth of July celebration- being all red, white and blue. As well as I’m sure it works there, it worked equally well in representing my new twelve year old. As we looked at this stunning cake, we all agreed that this cake did not belong to a little girl, and it was completely appropriate for my girl who is growing all-too-fast these days.
The recipe is for three layers- the two layers of Red Velvet, and then a white layer, which Epicurious threw lemon zest into. I opted to leave out the lemon zest, and instead used 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and made it a White Velvet layer. Topped with cream cheese frosting and a mountain of berries, it was absolutely wonderful.
I was delighted that you couldn’t taste the red food coloring at all- though I did use half no-taste food coloring from Wilton. The red layers tasted lightly chocolaty, and the deep vanilla layer was the perfect compliment. I can’t figure out how the lemon zest would have fit in, so I’m glad I decided to leave it out. The layers were also delicious enough that they could have stood on their own. The red velvet layers would be great by themselves, and I also think the white layer would have been delicious on its own too.
This recipe for Glorious Red, White and Blue Cake is a keeper. While it did take a bit of time to get together, it was totally worth it. There’s nothing like a homemade cake, and this one ranks right up there with the best. It won’t get a ton of replay time here, as I still have issues with the red food coloring, but should it be requested, I would make it again in a heartbeat.