Poor Man’s Red Velvet Cake

[BettyR]

For some reason the flash washes out the red color. It's redder than it looks in the picture. This is a really good recipe...Thanks Sweetcorn...

Poor Man’s Red Velvet Cake
Adapted from recipe posted by Sweetcorn 9/29/08 on backyardchickens.com

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring
2 cups water
3/4-cup oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla

****Cook flour and milk for frosting (recipe below) and set aside to cool.****

Preheat oven to 350°
Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of (3) 9 x 1 1/2-inch round cake pans. Spray the pans with cooking spray, place the wax paper in the pans and spray the paper.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour equal amounts into pans and bake in 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tests done with touch or tooth pick.

Cool in pans 15 minutes then remove from pans and cool completely. Frost cake.

Frosting:
5 tablespoons flour
1-1/4 cups milk
1-cup sugar
1/2-cup butter (1-stick)
1 cup shortening

Combine flour and milk in saucepan. Cook stirring constantly until thick. Cool completely.

Cream sugar, butter and shortening until VERY light and fluffy (5 minutes), add cooled milk mixture a little at a time beating well after each addition, then beat well. Frost cooled cake.

 

[arabianequine]

Looks really yummy.....a whole bottle of red food coloring yikes. looking at the ingredient it does not seem to really have anything unusual in it well a lot of red food coloring but that offers nothing to the taste appeal. What is red velvet cake? I thought it had a certain flavor or something people liked or is it just the color. Not so sure I have ever tried this kind of cake before.

 

[BettyR]

Red Velvet cake is a Southern thing...back a long time ago the red color came from the use of beets in the batter. The beets were used because the cocoa back then was very alkaline and the beets did something to counter that.

No the red food color doesn't add anything to the flavor it just makes the cake red. Red Velvet cake has a mild chocolate flavor to it. A lot of people like cream cheese frosting with red velvet but we have always used this frosting. It's the traditional frosting that was made with this cake before cream cheese was something that was easy to come by in the grocery.

 

[arabianequine]

Thank you for that info.....I was thinking cream cheese frosting too when I first seen it. I will have to try it out. Thank you for the recipe!

 

[Whispering Winds]

I have tasted RVC that had an almond flavor to it, like the juice from the marashino cherries. It was wonderful!!!!

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I use that frosting alot, it is wonderful and nice light/fluffy texture to it!! Can't go wrong with RVC!!!