This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

Red velvet cake is a Southern classic. This cake was a big rage in the recent years, but its a recipe that date back to a long time before. It was apparently around WWII, because Wiki says that’s when people started adding beet juice to get the red color.

Around Valentine’s day, you get to see red velvet cake parade all over the internet. It adorns all kinds of desserts- cakes, cupcakes, trifles, pies, donuts, cheesecakes and what nots! Personally I have never been a big fan of red velvet cake, because color is the only factor in it that makes it different. But hey, that’s just me!

The recipe here adds a good amount of food coloring. But the presence of coffee negates some of the red color. My bright red batter turned back brownish-red the minute I added the coffee. The site insists on not skipping the coffee, so I would go with it if I am making it again. The cake tasted absolutely delicious – the texture was soft and spongy with a tinge of red color. There are many recipes with out the use of artificial colors if you want to stay clear off it. Beets are again the most common source for color then.

I used this cake for another post to show how the chocolate lace collar is made. You can check it out in case you are interested.

Recipe source: Divas Can Cook

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 oz. red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• ½ cup hot coffee (1/2 cup water with 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder)
• 2 cups heavy cream plus 1/4 cup powdered sugar, whipped for frosting
• Chocolate, if making the lace around the cake

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350F/ 180C. Grease and line two round 9″ cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a big bowl, add oil and sugar. Whisk well. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring. Mix until combined.Add the coffee and vinegar.
4. Add the flour mix in 3-4 batches to the wet ingredients. Mix until no streaks of flour remains. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
5. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Once its out of oven and let the cake rest in the pan for at least ten minutes before taking out of the pan. Let it cool completely.
6. Red velvet cake is traditionally decorated with cream cheese frosting, but I have used whipped cream here.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63