Blue suede cake
Can someone please explain to me the fascination with red velvet cake?!?
I'm sorry, I just don't get it. It's good and all, but the whole I'm-a-white-cake-with-a-hint-of-chocolate-but-not-enough-to-be-chocolateley thing just doesn't make any sense to me. On top of that, red food coloring often has a very bitter taste. So of all the colors to make the cake, red may not be the best choice.
But I realize that a lot of people swoon over red velvet cake, so I'm not trying to pick any fights. It's just not a cake I would normally bake. So when my friend whose baby shower cake I made told me she liked red velvet I figured I'd give it a shot. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
The biggest change I made to the recipe: eliminate the red food coloring. And since it was a baby shower for a boy, I decided to turn it into a blue cake. And so my "blue velvet cake" was aptly renamed by the guests as "blue suede cake."
As far as the cake itself, it was pretty good actually. Although it was a teeny bit dry, it was better than some red velvets I've had. Although I'm not sure I loved the recipe enough to make it again, remember, I'm not the biggest red velvet fan out there.
However, what was absolutely delicious was the frosting. The addition of sour cream really enhanced the flavor of the frosting and brought it to another level. I think the best part of the cake is that it served as a vehicle for the deliciously tart and sweet frosting. That recipe is definitely a keeper.
Much like myself. haha.
Buen Provecho,
Jackie
Blue Suede Cake, from Not So Humble Pie, who took it from Rose's Heavenly cakes
Note: I doubled the recipe to make two 9" cakes but only upped the frosting by a factor of 1.5 and I still used a lot of frosting on the cake. So I'd suggest cutting the frosting down by 1/4 or 1/2 if you're following the cake recipe as-is.
Ingredients
3 large egg whites
1 oz food coloring or enough gel coloring to reach desired shade of the rainbow
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200 grams cake flour
200 grams superfine sugar (or regular sugar blitzed through a food processor until fine and almost powdery)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 TBSP lemon juice allowed to sit for 10 minutes)
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 9" square (or round) pan, place a piece of parchment or wax paper in the bottom and set aside. (I like to use baking spray instead of butter and flour. Spray the pan, add the wax paper, and spray it again. Easy and quick!)
2. In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, vanilla and red food coloring.
3. In a second medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
4. In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and oil for one minute on medium speed. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and mix on low speed to bring the ingredients together. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
5. Reduce the speed to low again and carefully add 1/2 the egg mixture, increase the speed to medium and mix for 30 seconds until it is incorporated. Reduce the speed and add the remaining egg mixture, and mix on medium speed for another 30 seconds until well blended.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean or the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched.
7. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then release the cake from the sides of the pan with a quick go-round with a small offset spatula and then unmold onto a wire rack.
Rose's Heavenly White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
11.5 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
1/2 cup butter, softened but still cool
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
powdered sugar, to taste (optional)
Directions
1. In the microwave heat the white chocolate stirring every 15 seconds until almost completely melted, being careful not to overheat the chocolate.
2. Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. Set aside to cool until no longer warm to the touch.
3. In your food processor or mixer, combine the cream cheese, unsalted butter and sour cream and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides often. Add the cooled chocolate and blend until it is incorporated and then pulse in the extract. Add powdered sugar, to taste, if it isn't sweet enough for your liking.
4. Pour the frosting into the bowl. For firmer frosting place in the refrigerator for roughly 30 minutes.
I'm sorry, I just don't get it. It's good and all, but the whole I'm-a-white-cake-with-a-hint-of-chocolate-but-not-enough-to-be-chocolateley thing just doesn't make any sense to me. On top of that, red food coloring often has a very bitter taste. So of all the colors to make the cake, red may not be the best choice.
But I realize that a lot of people swoon over red velvet cake, so I'm not trying to pick any fights. It's just not a cake I would normally bake. So when my friend whose baby shower cake I made told me she liked red velvet I figured I'd give it a shot. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Remember me???
Beautiful and delicious... much like myself. haha.
But why color the cake at all? Well, the minimal amount of chocolate in the white cake gives it an unappealing beige color. So you need to add quite a bit of food coloring to make it appetizing.
I'd say I did a good job based upon the reactions I got from the guests.
I'd say I did a good job based upon the reactions I got from the guests.
nom nom nom
However, what was absolutely delicious was the frosting. The addition of sour cream really enhanced the flavor of the frosting and brought it to another level. I think the best part of the cake is that it served as a vehicle for the deliciously tart and sweet frosting. That recipe is definitely a keeper.
Much like myself. haha.
Buen Provecho,
Jackie
Blue Suede Cake, from Not So Humble Pie, who took it from Rose's Heavenly cakes
Note: I doubled the recipe to make two 9" cakes but only upped the frosting by a factor of 1.5 and I still used a lot of frosting on the cake. So I'd suggest cutting the frosting down by 1/4 or 1/2 if you're following the cake recipe as-is.
Ingredients
3 large egg whites
1 oz food coloring or enough gel coloring to reach desired shade of the rainbow
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
200 grams cake flour
200 grams superfine sugar (or regular sugar blitzed through a food processor until fine and almost powdery)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 TBSP lemon juice allowed to sit for 10 minutes)
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 9" square (or round) pan, place a piece of parchment or wax paper in the bottom and set aside. (I like to use baking spray instead of butter and flour. Spray the pan, add the wax paper, and spray it again. Easy and quick!)
2. In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, vanilla and red food coloring.
3. In a second medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
4. In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and oil for one minute on medium speed. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and mix on low speed to bring the ingredients together. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
5. Reduce the speed to low again and carefully add 1/2 the egg mixture, increase the speed to medium and mix for 30 seconds until it is incorporated. Reduce the speed and add the remaining egg mixture, and mix on medium speed for another 30 seconds until well blended.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean or the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched.
7. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then release the cake from the sides of the pan with a quick go-round with a small offset spatula and then unmold onto a wire rack.
Rose's Heavenly White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
11.5 oz good quality white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
1/2 cup butter, softened but still cool
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
powdered sugar, to taste (optional)
Directions
1. In the microwave heat the white chocolate stirring every 15 seconds until almost completely melted, being careful not to overheat the chocolate.
2. Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. Set aside to cool until no longer warm to the touch.
3. In your food processor or mixer, combine the cream cheese, unsalted butter and sour cream and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides often. Add the cooled chocolate and blend until it is incorporated and then pulse in the extract. Add powdered sugar, to taste, if it isn't sweet enough for your liking.
4. Pour the frosting into the bowl. For firmer frosting place in the refrigerator for roughly 30 minutes.
Sour cream in a cream cheese icing is a kick-a$$ idea, lady! Thanks for posting the recipe!!
ReplyDeleteAnother big favorite southern cake is 7-up cake or CocaCola cake. I've made the real deal before -- they're pretty good. I have an awesome recipe I found on www.bakespace.com that i use for my healthy kids cooking classes:
Quick Cake
1 box cake mix
1 can diet soda
mix. bake.
; )
The cake was originally colored a tint of red from the chemical reaction the rich chocolate and butter produced so when cheaper chocolate became available people would add a dash of beet juice or food coloring to give it that authenic red tint so it had the appearance of rich chocolate. By the age of processed red food coloring it had just become a thing to turn it red. Sort of like an old expression that people might say today but don`t really know what the expression means.
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