Finally!  The Red Velvet Cake recipe search is OVER!

So, yesterday I was in the mood to bake a cake from a recipe that I had never tried before.  I'm not sure why I had the hankering for baking.  I guess that comes from just being Decker.

This post is mainly a review of a cookbook; I have not posted the actual recipe because of copyright.

My friend, Linda Carter, gave me a dessert cookbook for my 30th birthday this past January, Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe: Simple Southern Pies, Puddings, Cakes, and Cobblers from Nashville's Landmark Restaurant by Alisa Huntsman.  While I've been to the Loveless Cafe several times, I had never had eaten any of the desserts there; I was always too full from dinner.  So, I didn't know what to expect from this cookbook.

I noticed that there is a Red Velvet Cake recipe in it, and it looked like it had potential.  There weren't any crazy instructions like mixing the baking soda and vinegar together BEFORE putting them in the batter (this defeats the purpose of the baking soda by releasing the carbon dioxide from the baking soda before baking thus reducing its leavening properties - which means a very dense cake).  So, I made a mental note of the recipe and decided to come back to it when the time was right.

I started using recipes out of this cookbook back in February.  I fell in love with the chocolate pudding recipe, and I use the vanilla pudding for my version of Boston Cream pie.  I discovered that you can use goat's milk instead of the half-and-half for people with cow milk allergies.  More on puddings at a later date.

So, if you've read my previous post about Red Velvet Cake on Blogspot, you'll know that making this type of cake usually creeps me out.  This recipe uses HALF of the red food coloring that other recipes I've found use, and it uses more cocoa powder.  The batter doesn't come out blood red.  When finished, the cake comes out a lovely consistancy: fluffy with stability and tenderness.  I've never liked eat Red Velvet Cake, but I really enjoyed this cake (FYI - I am a cake snob, which I guess is not surprising).

So, if you love Red Velvet Cake, try this recipe out!

© Ruth-Decker Chaney 2012