Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake is a classic dessert. It's been around since the 1800's, with velvet referring tot he soft, luscious cake itself. The notable red color has come from a few sources over time, often the result of a chemical reaction with the brown cocoa. But at some points, actual beets were used to color the cake red. Nowadays a lot of red velvet receives it's color from food coloring, and I've made Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies and Red Velvet Cookies using that method. But when given the choice, natural coloring is always going to be my preference.

Beets are not my thing. Not even a little bit. I used to have a colleague that loved them, going so far as to order a beet salad once to an office lunch. To me, beets are the closest flavor to dirt that exists amongst root vegetables. On the dirt flavor scale, this is an 11/10. Perfect substitute for dirt.

There are a few times I do like a beet, though. Combined with other things, beets can be really flavorful. For example, pickled beets in a salad or air fried with other vegetables. But there are many things I don't enjoy on their own. Take olives. Though I'm Greek, I just can' thang with eating plain, salty olives from a can or jar. But put 'em on a supreme pizza? I'm on board.  In addition, one of the best vegan sausages I ever tried was loaded with beets. Some items are part of a set, and so I had a feeling beet-filled red velvet cake was going to be all systems go.

I started out by cooking the beets in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them. I peeled them next, which was pretty easy since they'd softened up in the microwave. After cutting the beets into chunks, I placed them in the food processor and chopped them until they were finer.

I added the  buttermilk, vinegar, and lemon juice, and pureed until I had a very bright smoothie-looking mixture.

The recipe I looked at used cake flour, which is not something I always have on hand. I made a substitute by taking out 6 tablespoons flour and adding 6 tablespoons of cornstarch, then whisking it together. The cornstarch is lighter than the flour, resulting in a lighter flour mixture overall. I then whisked in the cocoa I needed to make this cake chocolatey.

In my stand mixing bowl, I beat

And lastly, I added in the beets and mixed until the batter was combined. I baked the came in two round cake pans and once cooled, frosted it with a cream cheese icing. Bueno!

The red was no joke! Beets are truly magical. The vinegar is an important component to make the color really pop. This was something I learned as a kid. When we would dye Easter eggs, my mom would always add a little vinegar to assist in the process. The results were always rather vibrant, and this cake was no exception.

It reminded me of something I'd find in a little southern diner. A colleague of mine came by and we treated this cake like a model, giving it a front and center focus with various poses. I love the food posing part!

Truly red indeed. The real trick here was in the frosting. I went with a very natural, homemade look for the frosting, spreading it on with a frosting knife. The cake is rather moist and crumbly, so I did a crumb coat first, then popped the cake in the fridge to harden, and returned to add a second layer over it. I did wind up sprinkling some red crumbs on top just for aesthetics, but I found that I had a pretty lovely, crumb-less cake initially.

This cake was very rich and chocoately, but not unbearably sweet. You would never know there were beets in here! That dirt flavor was tucked away amongst all the good stuff. I found this to be irresistible and gave as much as I could away so that it wouldn't be in my house. There's a blessing and a curse to being a baker.

The red truly was stunning, and I was quite pleased with the result. Beets are easy enough to find, so I can't think of a reason to use 2 tablespoons of food coloring in the future. Now, time to remake the red velvet brownies?

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1-2 beets

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour (or alternatively, use all-purpose flour and swap out 2 tablespoons per cup with cornstarch)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

3 large eggs

For the frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons water (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350° F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray cake pans with baking spray (or lightly butter and flour). Stab the beets a few times with a fork, then wrap in a damn paper towel and microwave for 5 minutes to soften. Remove from microwave and let cool until they are lukewarm. Peel the beets with a vegetable peeler, then cut in to chunks about 2 inches in size and add to a food processor. Blend until puréed. Add buttermilk, vinegar, lemon juice, and continue processing until smooth. Sift or whisk the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt together in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time while mixing. Add about 1/4 of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and stir. Add about 1/3 of the beet mixture and continue stirring. Repeat this until all of the flour and beet mixtures are completed, with the last item added being the flour. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove and set aside to cool.

To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together for 3 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then slowly stir in powdered sugar. If dry, add water and stir until combined.

To frost cake, remove cooled cake from pan and set on plate. Frost with a thin layer of icing (thicker on top as this will be the center of the cake). Add second layer and complete frosting. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes, until icing hardens, then frost a second thin layer.

adapted from naturally dyed red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting