# Red Velvet Cake for my Daughter's 21st and Grand Daughter's 5th Birthday



## kathrynn

This cake is a tradition around our house.  Some like the cream cheese icing with pecans...and others don't.  This one doesn't have pecans...but I will put the amount in the recipe to follow.  Here are some pics so far.  Will post one after we cut into it this afternoon.













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__ kathrynn
__ Jan 6, 2013






Finished cake and in the fridge until dinner time













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__ kathrynn
__ Jan 6, 2013






Red batter













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__ kathrynn
__ Jan 6, 2013






I did a traditional 2 layer this time.  I do a sheet cake version more often.













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__ kathrynn
__ Jan 6, 2013






Cream cheese icing is the Bomb!

This is my Grandmother's recipe

2 1/2 cups of sifted flour (plain...I use White Lily)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cocoa (I use a rounded one...and use Hershey's)

1 cup Buttermilk

1 1/2 cups of oil *** (will explain this later)

1 teaspoon white vinegar

2 eggs (I typically use large eggs)

1 bottle of Red Food Coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla (real vanilla)

Add the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Mix well.  Add the buttermilk and oil and mix well.  Add the vinegar...mix well.  Add the eggs...mix well.  Add the food coloring and the vanilla...mix well.  Make sure all of the batter is red.  Sometimes it can hide around the underside of the bowl.

Put into greased and floured pans...or a sheet pan.  Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.  Do a toothpick test to check them.

Let totally cool before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick of butter

1 8 ounce block of cream cheese

1 pound of 10x sugar (confectioners)

1 teaspoon of Vanilla (I only use real vanilla)

1 cup chopped pecans

Let butter and cream cheese come to room temp.  Cream them together in a mixing bowl.  Add the sugar a little bit at a time..mixing well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  I hand mix in the pecans...just before putting on the cake.

If I am doing a sheet cake...I make one batch of icing.  If I am doing a layered cake...I double the amount.

*** Years ago...Wesson Oil made a Butter Flavored oil.   What we would do is 1 cup of the oil was the butter flavored one and the 1/2 cup remaining was regular oil.  The company stopped production...so we would sub in Popcorn oil....but would reverse the amounts....only 1/2 cup of the popcorn oil.  The one I made today...has just plain oil in it and it tastes fine.  Wonder if any one would have a good substitution for the Butter Flavored oil these days!


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## jarjarchef

I likes me some red velvet cake. Looks great...

I'll keep looking for the substitute for you...


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## kathrynn

I will post a pic of it sliced when I get to the Pc....on the kindle now. Thanks for helping.


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## jarjarchef

My friend got back with me. He said you can use clarified/drawn butter.

I was too lazy to type out how to clarify butter. So I have borrowed it from this site:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/03/how-to-clarify-butter-recipe/

There are some pictures on the site if needed.


> *Clarified Butter*
> 
> Unsalted butter, cut into cubes
> 
> 1. Heat the unsalted butter in a heavy-duty saucepan over very low heat, until it’s melted. Let simmer gently until the foam rises to the top of the melted butter. The butter may splatter a bit, so be careful.
> 
> 2. Once the butter stops spluttering, and no more foam seems to be rising to the surface, remove from heat and skim off the foam with a spoon. (It can be saved and added to soups, bread doughs, polenta, pilaf, or a bowl of warm oatmeal.)
> 
> Don’t worry about getting every last bit; you can remove the rest when straining it.
> 
> 3. Line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth or gauze (in France, I use _étamine_, which is cotton muslin) and set the strainer over a heatproof container.
> 
> 4. Carefully pour the warm butter through the cheesecloth-lined strainer into the container, leaving behind any solids from the bottom of the pan.
> 
> *Storage*: Clarified butter will keep for 3 to 6 months in the refrigerator. Some say you can leave it at room temperature if the conditions are optimal, but I keep mine under refrigeration. It can also be frozen for a similar length of time.
> 
> *Note*: If you continue to cook the butter in step #2, it’ll turn a nutty-brown color and take on a pleasant aroma, which the French call _beurre noisette_, because of the nut-like smell and taste. You can use it right away as is, with or without the foam, and it’s wonderful drizzled over steamed vegetables.


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## kathrynn

Thank you JarJar!  Knew someone could figure this out.  The cake was amazing...and just want to tweak it...of course!  Here are the pics after dinner last nite.













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__ kathrynn
__ Jan 7, 2013


















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__ kathrynn
__ Jan 7, 2013






AND...she has leftovers to take back to College today and share.


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## chef jimmyj

Kat the cake looks great. Red Velvet is my fav as well. As for Butter Flavored Oil...Whirl is not bad but it is a Restaurant Only item. As far as I know there is nothing on store shelves made by this company. You can check Restaurant Distributors that are open to the public...JJ

Jarjar, I am surprised you didn't come up with this...

http://www.todayswhirl.com/WhirlOriginal.aspx?#

Original 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Whirl cooking oil performs exceptionally well in high heat conditions like grilling and sautéing. It can also be used as a base fat in soups, sauces and gravies, and is excellent as a basting sauce for pizzas and breads. Our flavored oils offer industry leading quality cost and performance.








Excellent Butter Flavor
Fluid and Pourable at Room Temperature
Replacement for Butter or Margarine
No Refrigeration Required
Save up to 50% using Whirl vs. butter


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## linguica

*** Years ago...Wesson Oil made a Butter Flavored oil.   Crisco makes a butter flavored shortening. could that be melted and used?

I love cream cheese icing. You could spread it on an old shoe and it would taste terrific. But, being a northerner, I can not understand the affection for red velvet cake. A whole bottle of red food coloring and only a spoonful of coco powder,......... really?  Many years ago i made a red velvet cake and my wife had some for desert. The next morning she came out of the bathroom  crying and said she thought she had better go to the hospital. To this day, if that cake is mentioned in our presence, i get my ass chewed out as bad as the first time.


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## shoneyboy




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## candycoated

I can't believe I missed this post. Red Velvet Cake from scratch, Bravo Lady Kat!

Maybe try butter flavoring, should be on the shelf next to the vanilla extract. There is also a vanilla, butter & nut flavoring.













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__ candycoated
__ Feb 4, 2013


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## kathrynn

Thanks Yall!  JarJar....did come up with something that would work...Clarified Butter may do the trick.  What do you think Chef JimmyJ?

That is a favorite cake around our house!  Hubby loves lemon ice box pie for his birthday.

Lady MeL....it's easy!


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## roller

It looks great and one of my favorites especially the icing...Nice job...


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## shannon127

Are you going to smoke at least on slice?


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## chef jimmyj

I agree that clarified butter should work as it is a pure fat. Having the water cooked out will not mess with the wet to dry ratio. Just be careful and patient, rushing it will lead to a browning of the milk solids. Not a bad thing for sauteing veggies, or Gnocchi and Sage but will change the taste of the cake. I once, as a Baby Chef, put 5lbs of butter on to clarify then got busy with a ton of other stuff. I came back to billowing smoke! After a week of soaking and scraping at the Burnt stuff on the bottom of the $100 pot I used, I had to toss it in the garbage...JJ


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## candycoated

I've tried to make it from scratch a couple times, it tasted like dye. So when I want to make something red velvet, I used Duncan Hines, or Betty Crocker premix. Then doctor up the mix so it tastes homemade. ;p However, KAF.com has some specialty stuff for making a red velvet cake. I wanna try it! KAF also has pecan meal, I don't know what you make with that, but I got to get some! ;p


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## jarjarchef

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Kat the cake looks great. Red Velvet is my fav as well. As for Butter Flavored Oil...Whirl is not bad but it is a Restaurant Only item. As far as I know there is nothing on store shelves made by this company. You can check Restaurant Distributors that are open to the public...JJ
> 
> *Jarjar, I am surprised you didn't come up with this...*
> 
> http://www.todayswhirl.com/WhirlOriginal.aspx?#
> 
> Original
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Whirl cooking oil performs exceptionally well in high heat conditions like grilling and sautéing. It can also be used as a base fat in soups, sauces and gravies, and is excellent as a basting sauce for pizzas and breads. Our flavored oils offer industry leading quality cost and performance.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent Butter Flavor
> Fluid and Pourable at Room Temperature
> Replacement for Butter or Margarine
> No Refrigeration Required
> Save up to 50% using Whirl vs. butter


Because we stopped using it in the early 90's.............. Clarified butter is better......


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## candycoated

I was holding my tongue, but I gotta say it...

When I make cakes I use real butter, cream it with the sugar first, then add eggs, then all the rest of the ingredients in the order they should be added. The texture and flavor is always fine. Is it really necessary to do all the fancy stuff to the butter? Even with cake mixes I sub real butter to doctor it up, just let it get room temp and whip it, sub milk for water,add the eggs, then the box mix. Works fine, and people think I made it from scratch!


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## kathrynn

Butter is the best.  Or should I say in my best Southern Voice "Buttah".....


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## chef jimmyj

jarjarchef said:


> Because we stopped using it in the early 90's.............. Clarified butter is better......









  Just testing you! I agree Butter is better. But there are a few older recipes that just are not the same substituting, have to use Butter Oil or Margarine...JJ


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## themule69

top the next one with those pralines you made. in fact add the to the mix.

happy smoken.

david


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## jarjarchef

candycoated said:


> I was holding my tongue, but I gotta say it...
> When I make cakes I use real butter, cream it with the sugar first, then add eggs, then all the rest of the ingredients in the order they should be added. The texture and flavor is always fine. Is it really necessary to do all the fancy stuff to the butter? Even with cake mixes I sub real butter to doctor it up, just let it get room temp and whip it, sub milk for water,add the eggs, then the box mix. Works fine, and people think I made it from scratch!



The reason I would be hesitant on using whole butter over clarified is it is replacing oil in the recipe. Clarified butter is just straight oil and an easy swap out. But whole butter still has the water in it and depending on how much can effect your recipe quality and results. With baking I do not play too much with the recipes, due to the very tight formulas that need to be followed......but if you knew the water vs fat content and adjusted for it, whole butter can give you a richer flavor than clarified butter...


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## kathrynn

When I made this cake here....I just used the 1 1/2 cups of regular oil. It tasted fine. Maybe not as rich as back in the day....but passed the family test. Baking to me is almost like doing chemistry. Lol....try not to mess with the ingredients too mucn.

I agree....the praline pecans would be amazing on the top of cream cheese icing! Yummm!


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## kathrynn

candycoated said:


> I can't believe I missed this post. Red Velvet Cake from scratch, Bravo Lady Kat!
> 
> Maybe try butter flavoring, should be on the shelf next to the vanilla extract. There is also a vanilla, butter & nut flavoring.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> butter.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> __ candycoated
> __ Feb 4, 2013



Lady Mel....have you ever tasted a butter-nut cake and icing! When I was a kid...our neighbors made them. Omgoodness! She said she used the recipe from the box of flavoring.


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## mdboatbum

candycoated said:


> I was holding my tongue, but I gotta say it...
> 
> When I make cakes I use real butter, cream it with the sugar first, then add eggs, then all the rest of the ingredients in the order they should be added. The texture and flavor is always fine. Is it really necessary to do all the fancy stuff to the butter? Even with cake mixes I sub real butter to doctor it up, just let it get room temp and whip it, sub milk for water,add the eggs, then the box mix. Works fine, and people think I made it from scratch!


This recipe is an oil based chiffon cake. Different animal. Doing "all the fancy stuff" with the butter IE, clarifying it, is just to make it behave more like oil, which is the secret to the moistness in this recipe. However, having made this recipe (an almost identical one my wife found) I can tell you all the fancy stuff isn't necessary at all. She's used regular oil resulting in a DELICIOUS, moist cake. As for the flavor from the food dye, you can get powdered food coloring or gel, which are supposed to be flavor free. Or, you can just skip it all together. It'll be a light tan color, but the flavor and texture will be just as good. And by good, I mean FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!! This is really one of the best cakes I've ever had, and the first one my wife ever made completely from scratch.


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## candycoated

Lady Kat, if I have tasted one, I didn't pay attention to the name. oops!

And after I posted about the clarified butter, I started to think about what cakes I have actually baked from scratch... My experience lies in bundt cakes. I love a dense cake topped with fresh fruit in their juices! I think all the fluffy cakes I've made were from box mixes. So my bad, please carry on, I'm listening!


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## chef jimmyj

jarjarchef said:


> The reason I would be hesitant on using whole butter over clarified is it is replacing oil in the recipe. Clarified butter is just straight oil and an easy swap out. But whole butter still has the water in it and depending on how much can effect your recipe quality and results. With baking I do not play too much with the recipes, due to the very tight formulas that need to be followed......but if you knew the water vs fat content and adjusted for it, whole butter can give you a richer flavor than clarified butter...


Here is just a bit of info....American Whole Butter by law has to be at least 80% Butterfat, the remaining is usually 15% Water and 5% Milk Solids. So it would not be hard to figure out what adjustments to make. Salted butter will typically 1.5-3% Salt. So if baking with Salted Better, leave the salt out of the recipe...JJ


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