Red Velvet Cake with a Walnut-Coconut Frosting

I have read and seen red velvet cakes but never tasted or rather made one. So the choice by the Cake Slice Bakers from the book,  Nancie McDermott's cookbook, "Southern Cakes" was good enough for me. I have always been intrigued by the colour, not anymore .

A Red velvet cake is a rich, moist, sweet cake with a dark red, bright red or red-brown color. It is usually prepared as a layer cake somewhere between chocolate and vanilla in flavor, topped with a creamy white icing. Common ingredients are buttermilk, butter, flour, cocoa, and eitherbeets or red food coloring. The amount of cocoa used varies in different recipes. A typical frosting is a butter roux (also known as a cooked flour frosting). Cream cheese or buttercream frostings are also used. (Source: Wikipedia).

The contrast of the bright red against the white frosting is what makes it appealing. I chose to halve the recipe and make it in a bundt rather than make two layers because coconut in a cake is not a favorite at home.

The recipe called for 2 T of food coloring, which made me a little hesitant but not using that wouldn't give me the much awaited red color, so I gave in.But believe me, any surface I touched had a red tinge especially my fingers. Apart from this, the cake turned a beautiful red once it was baked. Once I unmoulded the cake, the crumb was too tender and it did tear while handling.  I did taste the crumb here and it had a slight tanginess probably owing to the use of buttermilk and vinegar. 

I expected a cream cheese frosting and was surprised to find the recipe had no cream cheese at all. Instead, flour and milk are cooked to a paste and then mixed with butter to form a smooth frosting. I used walnuts for pecans and went low on the use of sweetened coconut shavings. But when these were added to the frosting, it turned thick but nowhere to being fluffy but tasted good although a little too sweet.

This cake was actually good with the slight tanginess complimented by the coconut-walnut sweet frosting.A very moist and a very tender crumb.And yes the cake did stain my platter as well :)

January’s Cake: Red Velvet Cake

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

For the Red Velvet Cake

2½ cups all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (see note below)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp red food colouring

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1½ tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar    

For the Coconut Pecan Icing

1 cup milk

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Method – Red Velvet Cake

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line them with waxed paper to kitchen parchment. Grease the paper and flour the pans.

Prepare three separate mixtures for the batter. Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl and use a fork to mix them together well. Combine the cocoa powder and the red food colouring in a small bowl, mashing and stirring them together to make a thick smooth paste.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute until creamy and soft. Add the sugar and then beat well for 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl now and then. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one until the mixture is creamy, fluffy and smooth. Scrape the cocoa-food colouring paste into the batter and beat to mix it in evenly.

Add a third of the flour mixture and then about half the milk, beating the batter with a mixer at low speed. Mix only enough to make the flour or liquid disappear into the batter. Mix in another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and then the last of the flour in the same way.

In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and vinegar and stir well. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to quickly mix this last mixture into the red batter, folding it in gently by hand. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes until the layers are spring back when touched lightly in the centre and are just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pans.

Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks or folded kitchen towels for 15 minutes. Then turn them out onto the racks, remove the paper and turn top side up again to cool completely.

Method – Coconut Pecan Icing

Combine the milk and flour in a small or medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking or stirring often until the mixture thickens almost to a paste, around 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape it into a small bowl to cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat the butter with a mixture at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar in thirds, beating well eacg time until the mixture is creamy and fairly smooth. Add the cooled milk and flour mixture and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides now and then to combine everything well. Using a large spoon or spatula, stir im the vanilla, coconut and pecans, mixing to combine everything well into a thick, fluffy, nubbly icing.

To Assemble

Place one cake layer top side down on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread a third of the icing on top. Place the second layer, top side up, on top. Frost the sides and then the top of the cake with the remaining icing. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to help the icing set.

NOTE: If you can’t find buttermilk, stir 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar into 1 cup of milk and leave to stand for 10 minutes before using.