Sunday, February 7, 2010

Classic Red Velvet Cake (SMS)


This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Rosy of Rosy Lips and Lavender: Red Velvet Cake. It's basically a cake with a mild chocolate flavor that is colored red with either beets or red food coloring. Melissa adds cinnamon and red wine vinegar to her cake, some non-traditional ingredients to spice up the cake a little bit.

I decided that I didn't really have the time to make a pretty layer cake (my cake decorating skills leave a lot to be desired anyway!), so I went the cupcake route. I did use my molten cake pan to make some extra large cupcakes and sliced one of those cupcakes to make a mini red velvet cake. I made a full recipe which yielded 18 regular sized cupcakes and 4 huge cupcakes.

I'm not sure if it was because I didn't let my cream cheese warm up enough, or if it was because I used the fat free variety, but I could not get my cream cheese frosting to be smooth! So, my frosted cupcakes looked pathetic (which is why you won't see any photos of them here), and my mini red velvet cake looks pretty sad too... but I just couldn't put up a post without any photos so you get the one up top. Luckily the appearance of the frosting had no bearing on the taste of these cupcakes, as they were incredibly moist and delicious. The cream cheese frosting was good, but not my favorite. I prefer this cream cheese frosting, or even better - coconut cream cheese frosting.

I haven't had very many red velvet cakes before, but this recipe is definitely a keeper and I will certainly be making this cake again. This would be a great cake recipe to use for cupcake pops, too, if you wanted to do something more fun. If you would like to try the red velvet cake recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone enjoyed this crimson cake!

* Recipe notes:
- If making cupcakes, bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- I only used 1.5 tsp of red food coloring, but add the full 2 tsp (or more) if a more intense red color is desired.
- I made 2/3 of the frosting recipe and that was sufficient to frost all my cupcakes.
- For more tips, click here.
Posted by Jaime at 2:30 PM
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20 comments:

  1. Too bad about the photos -- but the recipe sounds great! I think my next layer cake will be red velvet (Valentine's Day!), and I'll definitely try the recipe you linked to.
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  2. Looks good to me!! I liked the frosting, but had to add extra powdered sugar because it was too buttery. I didn't think it tasted right or would be stiff enough.
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  3. Yum! What perfect food porn first thing on Monday morning. :) I love anything 3 layered so bring it on! I totally need to make this glutenfree!
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  4. Coconut cream cheese?
    That sounds great! This three layer cake looks so beautiful!
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  5. I had trouble with the frosting too - put it down to my freezing cold kitchen but I think the method is a bit weird and unforgiving. But so pleased that you liked the cakes and I love your mini layer cake!! Great idea. Thank you so much for baking with me this week. R x
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  6. i think your cake looks great--perfectly layered and frosted. i also share your less-is-more feelings about food coloring--that's some weird stuff. :)
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  7. I think the picture is great, so glad the cake was good!
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  8. Your cake looks so tall and proud!! I'd have a slice :)
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  10. Your cake looks fantastic to me -- have no idea wht you're talking about!
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  11. This looks fabulous to me, you should see mine. At least they were tasty!
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  12. I think it looks quite wonderful!! It's really pretty and as long as they're delicious, that's all that matters :)

    Sues
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  13. Cute little cake! I lose my patience fast with layer cakes too, so small ones are perfect. I ended up beating my frosting longer than you were supposed to get ride of the lumps and it got kind of loose, guess it's a weird recipe.
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  14. I never would have guessed this was a cupcake you turned into a layer cake - it looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing the link to that coconut cream cheese frosting - I am definitely going to have to try that! :)

    In response to your question on my site, I have this mechanical pastry bag from WS (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/mechanical-pastry-bag/?pkey=x|4|1||4|mechanical||0&cm_src=SCH) and the tip I used for these cupcakes was the large star tip from that set. I don't know what the equivalent Wilton tip is though I keep meaning to check so I can tell people when they ask...
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  15. I love your mini cake. Great idea using jumbo cupcakes.
    Mimi
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  16. I think your mini red velvet cake looks darling, Jaime. Red Velvet Cake seems to be all the rage this year. I think some old recipe books use vinegar like your friend. I'll have to check. Someday, I'll have to give it a try. I love to eat it but haven't had the nerve to attempt it myself. Kudos to you!!!
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  17. Red velvet cake is my absolute favorite!! but with coconut cream cheese icing?!?! YUMM. I will have to try this!
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  18. It has been a while since I made a red velvet cake. I need to give this recipe a try. The cinnamon and red wine vinegar sound interesting. I'll be trying out your fave cream cheese frosting recipe, too!
    ~ingrid
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  19. Your cake looks so good..how did I miss it last week?! I can never get my cake layers fat like that..must be the altitude!
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  20. Great job on your cake--I don't think it looks bad at all!
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