The history of cakes in general dates back to the 13th century. Hundreds of years ago, cakes were a type of sweet bread. People have put nuts and dried fruits in their cake recipes many times, which resulted in the dessert having a rough texture. It wasn’t until about 500 years later when bakers started to make desserts more appealing. they were able to find ways to break the flour down in recipes so cakes can be tastier and softer.
But the traditional red velvet cake isn’t exactly known where it’s from since there’s a lot of controversy behind who should get the credit for the original recipe.
Traditional red velvet cake
To know and understand traditional red velvet cake, you need to go back in time. Red velvet cakes only first came into the world during the Victorian Era. It was during the 1800s that luxury cakes frequently had cocoa. They would call the cakes “velvet” cakes and Serve them during parties. The word velvet tells people to know that the cake will have a soft and smooth texture.
Devil’s food cake was also popular during the Victorian Era. Devils food cake was another recipe that requires cocoa as an ingredient. The cooks in the 1800’s were working hard at work to get the perfect cake recipe. The ingredient of cocoa would break down the coarse flour. And it would result in the flour being softer and the cake was velvety. Some people say that the Red color comes from a chemical reaction. A chemical reaction between the cocoa and acid gives the cake its red color.
Original red velvet cake recipe
Cocoa powders have become better over the years and now most of the cocoa powder you buy undergoes a special processing. During the production, the cocoa interacts with an alkalizing agent which causes the cocoa’s acidity to neutralize. As a result, the other cake ingredients no longer have any chemical reaction with the cocoa.
The original red velvet cake recipe should always have:
- Eggs
- Real butter
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla Extract (not necessary)
- Vegetable oil
- White vinegar
- Flour
- Real butter
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Cocoa
Many people enjoy adding cream cheese frosting to their cake. The smooth cream cheese texture pairs well with the silky cake. Red Velvet Cake also has many different names and some are “red mystery cake”, “Flame cake”. “Waldorf Astoria cake”, and “Red carpet cake”.
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https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cakes/southern-red-velvet-cake
https://www.allrecipes.com/what-is-mahogany-cake-8730691
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/06/11/red-velvet-cake-history/
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https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/red-velvet-cake-recipe2-1948104
