Is Red Velvet Cake Really Made From Beets?
The answer is that it all depends upon who is making it.Where did this cake come from? There is one story, which I leave you to decide whether authentic or not, that it was made at the request of a guest at the Waldorf Astoria for a guest. They made the cake and charged her $100 for the privilege of receiving the recipe. In revenge she passed it out to anyone who would take it.
The Waldorf version is said to use beets for color. Nowadays it is made all over the place, but especially in the South Some of the attraction is at least the slightly unusual ingredients. One theory is that the red food coloring was added when Dutch cocoa began to be used as this has an alkali added so is less likely to produce the traditional mahogany red.
A quick search reveals there are a number of variations on the theme Usually these include a cream cheese or cooked frosted icing, but for a less rich version a simple drizzle of glace icing works as does just a sprinkle of icing sugar. Try doing this through a doily which, if you remove it extremely carefully, will leave a beautiful pattern.
Ingredients for Red Velvet Cake
