Ingredients

• I like my red velvet cake to taste like it actually has chocolate in it and I prefer natural coloring where possible. If you don't have beet powder use a food safe red color. The use of beet powder or juice is not new- in World War 2 it was used because it helped keep the cake moist in the absence of butter and eggs. I use butter in my recipe because you get a more moist crumb.
• I add a little lime zest to my frosting because I feel it really brings the cocoa flavor our in the cupcake. You can omit it if you prefer.
• While many permutations exist the red color in the cake is integral to this cake being called Red Velvet. A white cake with red frosting is not a red velvet cake and neither is a cake made with beetroot. The red color holds a special place in the south of America where it came to represent the blood of slaves who lost their lives during the civil war.
• The original frosting for this cake is the Boiled Frosting and not the frothy cream cheese variations you see in bakeries. I have included a recipe for it. I use it when I do a cake but the cream cheese frosting is easier to pipe on small cupcakes.
• The Red Velvet cake has become so in demand it is now available as cupcakes, cookies, cheesecake and more but it is not a new cake and dates back to the 1800's when cocoa cakes became popular.
• First came the term velvet when cocoa was added to cake flour- a finely ground bleached flour that produces a very airy, smooth cake. Mahogany cake and Devils' Food are also Velvet Cakes
• Velvet cakes had been made since the 1800s. The term red refers to the use of the color red. During the World Wars on account of rationing beetroot was added to to cakes to make them moist in the absence of eggs and butter. In Red Velvet the cake batter must contain a red colouring agent to qualify as a red velvet cake.
• One of the most prominent mentions of Red Velvet cake came in 1943 in Irma S. Rombauer’s “The Joy of Cooking”. Looking at the recipe I can tell why Ms. Rombauer did not like Red Velvet cake. There is hardly enough chocolate in it.
• The Adams Extract company attributes itself to making the “original” Red Velvet cake in the 1920s. Currently you can buy the mix from the company in its vintage packaging. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City also claims it is the birthplace of the Red Velvet cake, while some say that the Red Velvet cake started in the south.
• MAKES 24 1/2 CUP SIZE CUPCAKES
• Sift together
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour or Maida
• 3/4 cup good quality non-Dutch unsweetened cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 225 grams or 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 300 grams castor or fine granulated sugar
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1.5 cups plain unflavoured buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons beetroot powder or any natural red food colouring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons yogurt or sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
• 450-500 grams confectioners' sugar (sift if lumpy)
• Red sprinkles or edible dust