The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

[ShrekDawg]

Sometimes it takes till 9 pm to work up the energy to go outside & do something. But, too dark then and all those blood thirsty mosquitoes waiting for me. Nope.

Same

I was going to offer up the Red Hat ladies to test, they should like red velvet too right?
But since it was a bust, I guess they have been saved.


Guess there won't be any to send to us after all!

LOL if you hurry there might be!!

 

[ronott1]

We tasted the red velvet cake last night and reviews are in...not a keeper! The ratio of cake to frosting was way off (too much frosting, couldn't taste the cake).

The way the recipe creator made it looked kind of cool but the cutting of thin layers and stacking them with frosting in between made it much too sweet. And kind of a pain in the butt to do.

Won't be making this one again, so sorry DMC, guess I won't be posting the recipe.

Are you set on the fake red color from food coloring? That is not the way the original cake was made:

Red Velvet Cake – No Dye

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine:

6 ounces (1 and a half sticks, or 12 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp
15 3/4 ounces light brown sugar

Cream these together at medium high speed for about 5 minutes…longer than you think is necessary…until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then add, one at a time:

3 eggs

Beat each egg in fully before adding the next, maintaining that light fluffy texture.

In a large bowl, combine:

6 ounces unbleached flour
6 ounces cake flour
2 1/4 ounces natural cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Sift this mixture twice with a strainer. This is an important step, don’t skip it. MOST recipes that call for sifting actually don’t need any sifting. That’s an antiquated technique (like baking recipes that call for scalding milk) that was originally used to remove tiny bits of stone that remain in the flour after the grinding process. Modern flours aren’t stone ground any longer, and are sifted multiple times in the factory before packaging. However, in this recipe, the sifting is important because both cake flour and cocoa powder tend to clump, and the dry ingredients need to be fully aerated to achieve that velvety texture that is every bit as important as the red color in Red Velvet Cake.

In a large measuring cup, combine:

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, warmed 30 secs in the microwave
2 teaspoons vanilla

Whisk this together with a fork. On low speed in the stand mixer, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/3 of the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Let the mixer fully incorporate the ingredients before you add the next 1/3 of each. And then the final 1/3. Let the mixer run an additional 5 minutes (important) on low speed to ensure the batter is fully smooth.

Let the batter sit for a bit while you prepare your pans. This recipe will make three 9″ layers, or 24 cupcakes or individual cakes. Spray the cake pans or muffin tins with cooking spray, and line the bottom with circles of parchment. (If you’re making cupcakes, just use cupcake liners, but if baking individual cakes, it’s best to cut out little circles for the bottom of each muffin cup.) For individual cakes, only fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full. For cupcakes, fill them almost to the rim. An ice cream scoop makes this laughably easy.

Preheat your oven to 325F (or 375F if baking cupcakes) and place the rack in the center of the oven.

Bake full 9″ cakes for 30-35 minutes, individual cakes for 20-25 minutes, or cupcakes for 15-20 minutes (at 375F…cupcakes need a higher temperature to raise their tops into a high, rounded shape. Cakes you want flat across the top for easier frosting, which is why you bake them 50 degrees cooler.) You’ll know the cakes are done when you gently touch the top and it’s not sticky and doesn’t give easily when you press. It should have a bit of resistance and even spring back just a bit when you remove your finger. You can also stick a knife or toothpick in the cake, and if it comes out clean, with no streaks of batter, it’s done. But who wants to stab their cake?!?

Remove the pans and cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Then you can remove the cakes, which should slide out easily because of that parchment layer you worked so hard on.



The traditional topping for Red Velvet Cake these days is cream cheese frosting. Which is a good thing, because it’s the easiest of all the frostings to make, AND it tastes the best. If you are frosting a layer cake, let them fully cool and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up while you make the frosting. This will prevent all those little crumbs from accumulating in the frosting.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temp
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp

Beat these together on medium high speed until they are light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add, a bit at a time:

1 pound powdered sugar

After the sugar is mostly incorporated, you can raise the speed to beat it until the frosting is light and airy. Then add:

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Beat until it’s fully incorporated. And please note, if your household is cream cheese frosting obsessed, you might wanna double this recipe!!

 

[bruceha2000]

So why is it called a red velvet cake if it isn't red?

 

[ronott1]

So why is it called a red velvet cake if it isn't red?

Red came naturally from not alkalized cocoa. When that was replaced with "Dutched" cocoa(natural cocoa was removed from the market), people started using beet juice because dutched cocoa does not turn red. Then a food coloring dude decided to use red dye instead of beet juice...since beet juice had a taste to it.

If you use non alkalized cocoa, it has a red color but not the crazy red from fake dye color. The cake tastes the same...except for those that can taste the dye

 

[drumstick diva]

My mother used to make a red devil's food cake when I was young. Who knows what she used to make it red. I would guess food coloring and a lot of it.

 

[DigMyChicks]

We tasted the red velvet cake last night and reviews are in...not a keeper! The ratio of cake to frosting was way off (too much frosting, couldn't taste the cake).

The way the recipe creator made it looked kind of cool but the cutting of thin layers and stacking them with frosting in between made it much too sweet. And kind of a pain in the butt to do.

Won't be making this one again, so sorry DMC, guess I won't be posting the recipe.

I saw one like that. It was pretty though.

I finally got pics... New babies The first two were a real shock, didn't think the boy had all his equipment, but was definitely wrong.
View attachment 1462525 View attachment 1462526 View attachment 1462527 View attachment 1462528

Love new babies!

Red came naturally from not alkalized cocoa. When that was replaced with "Dutched" cocoa(natural cocoa was removed from the market), people started using beet juice because dutched cocoa does not turn red. Then a food coloring dude decided to use red dye instead of beet juice...since beet juice had a taste to it.

If you use non alkalized cocoa, it has a red color but not the crazy red from fake dye color. The cake tastes the same...except for those that can taste the dye

I can’t taste the dye in mine. I brought one to church for a funeral and they loved it and I got asked why they couldn’t taste the dye...I had no answer. I don’t imagine it’s good for a person either.

 

[Blooie]

No matter what color it is, it's still chocolate.

 

[bruceha2000]

You know Blooie, SOME people actually LIKE chocolate!

 

[Blooie]

You know Bruce, SOME people actually DON'T! ​

 

[bruceha2000]

I know! My college roommate for one.

Oh, and my friend @Blooie too!