and she said, "let there be red velvet cake!"

and there was red velvet cake....and it was good.


it's a complex cake that is moist and dense with a good crumb. it gives little hints now and then that whisper flavors of orange, chocolate, vanilla and it may just be me, but i think it tastes red. and it is oh, so tasty.

the last time i had red velvet cake i was a small child. i remember i liked it, but i had no idea what the big deal was. i thought it was just red. woopty-doo, right? the red velvet mystery was reintroduced to me a few weeks ago when i saw bobby flay have a throw down with cakeman raven, the master of the southern red velvet. bobby's cake wasn't as pretty as cakeman's, but his won the throw down. bobby's been making cakes for about six months and that was his first red velvet, which said something to me...if bobby can do it, i can do it! i mean, i know he's a frigging rock star and all (as well as my favorite chef), but seriously...he'll be the first to remind you that pastry is not his forte. so i set to work with the research...

some people will tell you that red velvet cake is basically chocolate cake with red food coloring and some people will tell you that's not true, but they won't be able to give you an alternative...because they don't know. some people tell you it's a light chocolate cake made red, but why would someone do that? not even all of them have cocoa in them. basically, it's a mystery. i asked friends about any red velvet they've had, looked at a few different recipes and i found one common thread aside from the color red...the texture, it's like velvet. well, duh. now it makes perfect sense!

most of them use a teaspoon of white vinegar and a cup of buttermilk to get that dense, smooth velvet texture. when i need buttermilk in my baking, i use one cup of soy milk or so_delicious coconut milk beverage and i mix in one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. voila! buttermilk substitute! to do that and then add more vinegar might make a vinegar flavored cake. i know i don't want a vinegar flavored cake, do you? i didn't think so. so i used tofutti better than sour cream. the result gives a slight kick to the layers of flavor that mingle with your taste buds...very pleasing.

i've decided to add some eating instructions with this cake. they are: 1) eat it slowly and savor the flavor. 2) it goes GREAT with a cup of starbucks cafe verona. 3) make it often and enjoy it for breakfast now and then just for the joy of being bad...you can have that smoothie for lunch if it makes you feel better.

red velvet cake
makes 1, 2 layer cake or about 24 cupcakes

ingredients:

wet:
1 cup of so_delicious coconut milk beverage or soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup of tofutti better than sour cream
1/2 tsp of orange zest (not the white part of the peel though)
2/3 cups of canola oil
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp orange juice
1 oz (2 tbsp) of red food coloring

dry:
2 1/2 cups of unbleached, all purpose flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (4 tsp) of cocoa powder
2 tbsp corn starch (slightly rounded)
2 tbsp arrowroot starch (slightly rounded)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

preheat your oven to 350F.
mix your 'milk' with the cider vinegar and let it sit for a minute to curdle while you lightly oil and flour 2 round cake pans or place liners in 2 cupcake pans.
mix the milk and vinegar mixture with the rest of the wet ingredients, down through the red food coloring, in a large mixing bowl (careful not to splash so you don't get red everywhere). and don't be alarmed by the intense red color of this mixture...it's okay, i promise!
in a smaller bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients together (everything from the flour through the salt) and mix it into the wet ingredients in 3 additions on low speed.
pour equal amounts of the batter into the 2 cake pans or fill the cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3 full.
bake at 350F for about 30 minutes for a cake and about 25 minutes for cupcakes. a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when they're done.
let them cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. let them cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

cream cheese frosting

1/2 cup of earth balance vegan margarine
1 cup of tofutti better than cream cheese
*3 1/2 - 4 cups of powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest

mix the margarine and cream cheese until creamy.
add the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments, mixing till smooth each time.
add the vanilla and orange zest with the 3rd cup of powdered sugar
refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

*i used 3 1/2 cups of the sugar so i can have enough in my bag for 2 batches (1 bag = 7 cups). if you decide to do the same, be aware that the frosting is a little thinner. refrigerating it while the cake cools thickens it, which makes it very workable. if you refrigerate it too long, just let it sit till it's spreadable.
i like it with the 3 1/2 cups anyway, it's less sweet and doesn't steal the show from the cake.

bon appetit!