Friday 20 November 2009

Red Velvet Cake

Some time ago I heard myself offering to make cupcakes for a friend's daughter's birthday party. I said that my silicon rose moulds would be perfect for little birthday cakes for a 5 year old.

Then I realised that I had had more failures than successes with those bloody cake moulds and that I really needed to do a dry run or two.

I also decided that red velvet cakes would be terribly cute in rose shapes. I have never tasted red velvet cake before, but I thought it would be good.

I googled, and came upon Paula Deen's recipe. Now, you may not have come across Paula Deen before (she's fairly new to me - I don't think her shows are on TV here) but she is a Southern American TV cook and restaurateur who first came to my attention with a Brunch Burger featuring a burger patty, bacon and a fried egg sandwiched between glazed doughnuts. I figured the mind behind that burger had to know a thing or two about the quintessentially Southern red velvet cake.

I made a half quantity & used colouring paste instead of liquid food colouring. And they worked beautifully! They turned out without a fuss, they had a lovely light, open but moist texture and were pretty much fantastic.

I think when I make them for the actual birthday I will use a lot more cocoa powder, because the cakes sort of tasted vanilla-y and sweet, rather than having any sort of chocolate flavour to them. It'd also make the red colour richer. My camera totally freaked out and made them look a glowing orange, but they were actually a bright lipstick red. Can't wait to do them again!

14 comments:

Deb in Hawaii said...

I love red velvet--there is a place here with the best RV cupcakes-yum. The roses are so cute and they will be perfect for the party.

Bettina Douglas said...

Have never heard of red velvet cakes before. I'm so pleased the silicon moulds have delivered this time.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Deb - thanks!

Mother - yes you have. In Steel Magnolias the groom's cake is a red velvet armadillo cake! I'm pleased that the silicon moulds are behaving, too!

George Gaston said...

What a creative idea to do red velvet in your rose bud moulds! Red Velvet is my favorite cake; I love the look, the taste and the texture.

As for Paula Deen ~ she is a goddess to us Southerners. I love her style, her wit and all of her recipes. She has a terrific restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, that is run by her two sons, called The Lady & Sons.

I am sure that the birthday girl will be so excited with your delightful rose cupcakes. Great post!

kat said...

Red velvet is perfect for that cake mold. The Paula Deen recipe is my go-to red velvet recipe, its soooo good.

Alicia Foodycat said...

George - it is a great texture! I was somehow expecting it to be dry.

Kat - I'm lucky I hit a good recipe first up!

Suelle said...

The present colour is so appropriate for the shape of the mould and very pretty, but I think you're right to try and get them more chocolatey - unless your friend's daughter would prefer pink cakes!

Arlene Delloro said...

I love your rose molds. Paula is a character, but I usually steer clear of her recipes. I want to live a full life and her reliance on butter, bacon, and sausage is a bit much for me. These cupcakes will make that 5 year old very happy, I'm sure.

NKP said...

We don't get Paula here either, we did for a short while but I guess she didn't catch on.
Lovely little cakes, so glad they turned out well!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Suelle - she would love pink cakes. She is 5! But I prefer darker and chocolatier.

Arlene - yes, I can't see how Paula eats her own cooking and looks so good!

Natashya - wait until you see the edible glitter...

Laurie said...

I hate when the camera does that!

Those little rose cakes are perfect for a little girl's birthday party. Great idea to test the recipe first, though.

Confession time: I've never tasted red velvet cake and Paula Deen scares me a little bit.

sharonfruit said...

OMG - not Paula Deen! Her recipes would give you a heart attack just looking at them! My boss in my previous job used to do a mean impression of her!

Cakes look yummy though :o)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Laurie - it's not really a taste sensation!

Sharon - one day I will see this woman on TV: she sounds amazing!

Esi said...

I love the shape you used and it's interesting to use the paste instead of the food coloring. I love red velvet but I can be picky about it. Did you make the cream cheese frosting too?

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