Ok, granted, my pictures don’t do this cake justice, but let’s take a moment and talk about the red velvet cake. Even its name is seductive: Red Velvet. It’s not one of those that just sits by the sidelines waiting to be noticed. It is pretty and dramatic. This in-your-face deep-red cake contrasts beautifully with the white cream cheese icing. But one shouldn’t be intimidated by it. It’s really a simple cake to bake. Essentially it is a chocolate and vanilla cake.
Food Colour
For the health conscious who are wary of food colour, the internet abounds with recipes made with natural alternatives like beetroot or hibiscus tea.
If you go the synthetic route, keep in mind that not all food colour is created equal. The most common brands available in Kenyan supermarkets are the powder kind and these have a distinct awful aftertaste. It is better to invest in the good quality stuff which will provide drama/colour, and yet let the delicious chocolate and vanilla flavours come through. Look for the gel food colours or liquid ones like Americolour.
Food color is messy to work with. So be neat to make clean up easier.
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups flour
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup mala
- food colour
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
Directions
In a bowl, put 2 2/3 cups of flour, 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Mix together with a fork or a whisk.
In a separate large bowl, put 1/2 cup of butter or margarine, 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Cream using a mixer. Initially when mixing the butter and sugar is crumbly. But we want to whisk until it is smooth. Add the first egg, whisk until it is absorbed into the butter. Then add the second egg and whisk until is it also absorbed into the butter.
Now into the butter-sugar-egg mix, whisk 1 cup of vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons vanilla essence.
At this stage, preheat the oven to 170C or 350F.
Next, pour about a third of the flour mixture (you don’t have to be exact) into the wet ingredients and mix. Then pour half a cup of mala and mix. Then another third of the flour mixture, and then the second half cup of mala. Finally finish off with the last third of the flour and whisk until everything is incorporated well. Scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl.
The amount of food colour to add depends on how deep a red you want the cake to be. So measure with your eyes. (As you can see from my pictures I wasn’t going for a very strong red.) Finally add 1 teaspoon of vinegar.
Pour the cake batter into the 2 sandwich tins—as equally as you possibly can. Bake for 20-30 minutes. After about 10/15 minutes rotate the pan in the oven. The cake is ready when a knife when inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool first in the pan for about 10 minutes and then on a rack until completely cool.
For the cream cheese icing—if you are sandwiching two cakes, you will need to 2 bottles of mala or 1 litre of natural yoghurt (please see the homemade cream cheese recipe). Start by whisking the cream cheese and add the icing sugar until you reach the desired sweetness – taste as you go. Add a teaspoon of vanilla for flavour but that is optional. The tang of mala/yoghurt combined with the sweet cake is such an excellent combination.
