Red Velvet means red velvet in English. And true to its name, the traditional cake has a light to dark red color. This typical American dessert became very popular in the southern states of America in the last century and is becoming increasingly popular today. Below we will reveal how you can bake such an aesthetically appetizing Christmas cake and achieve the irresistible color of the base. It's actually not complicated at all and actually healthy.
Baking a red Christmas cake – how does the typical color come about?
A red velvet cake is usually layered with chocolate flavor and covered with white icing, often made from buttercream. As usual, the ingredients include butter, cocoa, milk, flour and beetroot. Strawberries or blueberries are also added to add visual appeal. The cake owes its characteristic red-brown color to a chemical reaction between the cocoa it contains and acidic ingredients such as buttermilk. To strengthen the effect, red food coloring or, ideally, a natural coloring agent – beetroot is often added. Thus theCake baseIntense red to bright and contrasts wonderfully with the white cream.
As already mentioned, the cake became very popular among Americans in the 1920s and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan still offers it today as one of its signature specialties, prepared according to a traditional recipe. After the end of the Second World War, a ready-made baking mix appeared on the market so that every American consumer could easily prepare the delicious cake at home and treat their family to it. Although the finished baking mix had a different and terrible name - Devils Food Cake Mix - that's how it became known. Later in the 1990s, the cake with a special base color celebrated a revival when it appeared first in the film 'Steel Magnolias' and then in an episode of the series 'S** and the City'.
In order to achieve the desired dark red color based on the American model of red velvet cake, either suitable red food coloring is generally used or the effect is created using natural foods. Add previously cooked beetroot to a more intense color or add a small amount of vinegar to the buttermilk and cocoa. We have rounded up some recipes that you are welcome to try.
TheRed-Velvet-Cake Rezept
Ingredients for the kitchen dough:
- 375 g Flour
- 600g sugar
- 6 Owner
- 250 g soft butter
- 2 tbsp red food coloring (pay attention to the quality, otherwise the cake will be brown)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 250 g buttermilk
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
Ingredients for the buttercream:
- 250 g soft butter
- 350g white chocolate
- 400 g cream cheese
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 170°C and prepare three baking tins for the cake layers. These need to be greased and dusted with flour.
- Stir the dough into a large bowl, first beating the butter and sugar until fluffy, then gradually stirring in the eggs. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients - cocoa powder and food coloring, then add to the butter-sugar mixture.
- Gradually add the flour and buttermilk alternately, then stir in the vanilla extract and salt.
- Separately, carefully mix baking powder with vinegar and add to the dough. Gently stir just enough to mix the ingredients well. Now distribute the mixture evenly between all three baking pans and bake for about 30-45 minutes. After the baking time, let it cool down.
- For the buttercream, first melt the white chocolate in a water bath and let it cool to the side, but be careful - it has to stay lukewarm. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl, then add the butter and chocolate little by little. Stir until a whipped cream consistency is created.
- Divide the buttercream you have created into 3 pieces. About a third of it is placed on a cake base and the bases are placed on top of each other. Then cover the third and last layer with the remaining cream.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
The variant of baking cupcakes instead of a cake using the same recipe is less complicated and essentially easier to garnish and serve in this form. Different berries, such as blueberries and strawberries, not only match the taste, but also visually complement the appearance in red nuances.
Chocolate cakemit Rote Bete
Ingredients for a 12 piece cake:
- 225g sugar
- 275 g Flour
- 225 g pre-cooked beetroot
- 180 ml
- 3 Owner
- 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 60 g Kakao
- Salt
- Aluminum foil
- some fat for the baking pan
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C and prepare the baking pan, preferably a loaf pan, by greasing it and dusting it with flour.
- First cut the beetroot very small, then puree it with a hand blender; you can grate it if you like. It stains very strongly, so it is advisable to use disposable gloves to protect your hands. Stir in the eggs too.
- Place flour, baking powder, cocoa, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Then add the beetroot and stir into a smooth dough.
- Pour into the baking pan, smooth out and bake for a total of about 75 minutes. The cake should still be slightly moist inside, so after 1 hour of baking, cover it with aluminum foil.
- After you take the cake out of the oven, let it cool in the tin for 30 minutes and only then can you carefully turn it out of the tin.
- You can dust the finished cake with powdered sugar or prepare buttercream and garnish it with it.
