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If
you could be cake what kind of cake would you be? Probably
not red velvet cake. But that’s what Jacaré
has been mixing up these past few months.
The
story behind the cake question is not an old one. While
living in Brazil with four other Americans we came up with
the cake question posed above. We of course had to answer
it and came up with the following cake personalities. Blue
Cake, just very, very blue, Pineapple upside down cake,
almond coffee cake, plain vanilla cake without any frosting
burnt to a crisp except for the very middle which is perfectly
cooked, and of course red velvet cake.
I
searched through a lot of San Francisco bakers and not one
had even heard of red velvet cake. Thus I am enlightening
the whole of San Francisco with my knowledge. From what
I can gather, red velvet cake is a Southern native, since
none of the cultural San Franciscans have ever heard of
it. This is a very easy recipe and can easily be changed
to make blue cake of Holly Brazil fame. It’s also fun
to see the chemical reaction in the last stage. Have fun,
and try not to dye your kitchen red!
Red
Velvet Cake
Y’all need these things:
½ cup softened butter
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz. red food coloring
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda
Cream
the butter and sugar, add the eggs and mix until smooth.
Make a paste with the food coloring and the cocoa. Be careful
so as not to stain your kitchen countertop, wooden spoon,
dishcloths, and hands with the red dye, like I did. Add
this to the creamed butter mixture. Add flour and buttermilk
alternately to the mixture, mixing completely. Add the vanilla.
Here
is the fun part: measure out the baking soda and put in
a small bowl or cup. Then measure out the vinegar and add
to the baking soda. Stand back and watch the fizz. Stir
this into the batter, you do not want to beat it. Pour the
batter into two eight- or nine-inch pans and bake at 350
degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.
I’ve
never had any luck making icing, so I personally have just
used store-bought. Yes I know, it abounds with preservatives
and more, but my icing-making skills are just not up to
par. And why waste a beautiful cake with bad icing? This
is the traditional icing that goes with red velvet cake.
It is not Heather-tested, so you are on your own. If you
have a favorite icing you prefer to use, substitute it instead.
I like vanilla or light-colored frostings for the red cake,
with a fudge ripple between layers. Enjoy!
Icing
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Make
a paste with the flour and milk. Cook over a low heat, stirring
constantly until thick. Cool. Cream the butter, sugar, and
vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture gradually
until it is of spreadable consistency.
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About
Jacaré
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