Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I spent so much time in my kitchen the past several weeks - making everything from chocolate peppermint cheesecake to mulled cider to beef tenderloin - that, whew! I'm more than ready to let someone else do the cooking and cleaning up.
Had a few phone calls about the story on red velvet cake story that ran this past Saturday. One caller said that her aunt used beet juice to achieve the cake's sassy red hue instead of food coloring.
Here's an email about a new cupcake shop that offers red velvet cupcakes:
Hi Pat,
I would like to comment on your Red Velvet Article. GREAT JOB! If you are not familiar with Cupcake Heaven, we are a new store in the Fairfax Shopping Center. We serve Red Velvet cupcakes and we can not keep them in the cases. They go out the door as fast as we make them. Cupcakes solve the problem that you mentioned with a typical size cake, if an allergy is present the flavor can be avoided.. They can be mixed and assorted so that everyone can have their own favorite flavor. If you never have experienced a Cupcake Heaven Cupcake, please stop by or check our website: www.cupcakeheavencupcakes.com. Thank you and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Drew Hurst
Now the bad news: Unfortunately, the recipe for red velvet cake omitted the amount of butter in the cake. Ugh. And oops!
Here's the corrected version:
RED VELVET CAKE
From "Southern Cakes" (Chronicle Books, $19.95) by Nancie McDermott.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (or stir 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup of milk; let stand for 10 minutes)
2 tablespoons cocoa
One 1-ounce bottle (2 tablespoons) red food coloring
From "Southern Cakes" (Chronicle Books, $19.95) by Nancie McDermott.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (or stir 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup of milk; let stand for 10 minutes)
2 tablespoons cocoa
One 1-ounce bottle (2 tablespoons) red food coloring
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened.
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9-inch cake pans generously, and line with waxed paper or kitchen parchment. Grease paper and flour the pans. Prepare three separate mixtures for batter. Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl and use a fork to mix well. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Combine cocoa and red food coloring in a small bowl, mashing and stirring together to make a thick, smooth paste. In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute, until creamy and soft. Add sugar, and then beat well for 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl now and then. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each one, until the mixture is creamy, fluffy and smooth. Scrape cocoa-food coloring paste into batter and mix in. Add a third of flour mixture and then half the milk, beating at low speed, and mixing only enough to make flour or liquid disappear into batter. Mix in another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and then the last of the flour in the same way. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and stir well. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to quickly mix this last mixture into the red batter, folding it in gently by hand. Scrape batter into the prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until layers spring back when touched lightly in the center and are just beginning to pull away from sides of pans. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks or folded kitchen towel for 15 minutes. Then turn them out on racks or on plates, remove the paper and turn top side up to cool completely.
COCONUT PECAN ICING
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
To make the icing, combine the milk and flour in a small or medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking or stirring often, until the mixture thickens almost to a paste, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape it into a small bowl to cool completely. Meanwhile, beat the butter with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar in thirds, beating well each time, until the mixture is creamy and fairly smooth. Add the cooled milk-and-flour mixture and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides now and then, to combine everything well. Using a large spoon or your spatula, stir in the vanilla, coconut and pecans, mixing to combine everything well into a thick, fluffy, nubby icing. To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down on a cake stand or a serving plate, and spread icing on the top. Place the second layer, right side up, on top. Frost the sides and then the top of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more to help the icing set. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9-inch cake pans generously, and line with waxed paper or kitchen parchment. Grease paper and flour the pans. Prepare three separate mixtures for batter. Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl and use a fork to mix well. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Combine cocoa and red food coloring in a small bowl, mashing and stirring together to make a thick, smooth paste. In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute, until creamy and soft. Add sugar, and then beat well for 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl now and then. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each one, until the mixture is creamy, fluffy and smooth. Scrape cocoa-food coloring paste into batter and mix in. Add a third of flour mixture and then half the milk, beating at low speed, and mixing only enough to make flour or liquid disappear into batter. Mix in another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and then the last of the flour in the same way. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and stir well. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to quickly mix this last mixture into the red batter, folding it in gently by hand. Scrape batter into the prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until layers spring back when touched lightly in the center and are just beginning to pull away from sides of pans. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks or folded kitchen towel for 15 minutes. Then turn them out on racks or on plates, remove the paper and turn top side up to cool completely.
COCONUT PECAN ICING
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
To make the icing, combine the milk and flour in a small or medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking or stirring often, until the mixture thickens almost to a paste, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape it into a small bowl to cool completely. Meanwhile, beat the butter with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar in thirds, beating well each time, until the mixture is creamy and fairly smooth. Add the cooled milk-and-flour mixture and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides now and then, to combine everything well. Using a large spoon or your spatula, stir in the vanilla, coconut and pecans, mixing to combine everything well into a thick, fluffy, nubby icing. To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down on a cake stand or a serving plate, and spread icing on the top. Place the second layer, right side up, on top. Frost the sides and then the top of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more to help the icing set. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
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