Valentine’s Day is closely associated with the colour red. Red roses, red hearts, red candy — what’s not to love?
To take this theme one step further, try baking a red velvet cake this year, either for your loved one(s) or just for yourself. If you’re lazy like me, you can bake up a batch of scrumptious cupcakes instead.
Red velvet is a moist, dense cake with a distinctive ruby red hue from which its name derives. This cake is often served up with rich cream cheese frosting, but vanilla buttercream is also popular, or even something lighter like whipped cream.
If you really want to try a piece of this scrumptious cake without first toiling over a hot oven, head right over to your nearest Salisbury House restaurant, because along with their famous Nips and wafer pie, they’ve been serving up this classic dessert every day since, well, forever. It’s even possible to order an entire cake from their store!
Red velvet is undeniably a very popular dessert that’s been adapted in countless ways, from pancakes to candy, milkshakes to cocktails, cinnamon buns to crullers to cookies and more — and those are just local offerings! If you’ve never tried it, you’re missing out!
While no one knows the exact origin of red velvet cake, and while it’s often considered a southern U.S. cake, both the Waldorf Astoria in New York and our very own former Eaton’s department stores right up here in Canada claim to have invented it. Awkward.
Lady Eaton’s Red Velvet Cake
If any of you reading this are old enough to remember the massive Eaton’s department store that used to dominate the space on Portage Avenue where the Canada Life Centre now stands (go Jets!), you may remember this classic, served in both the more casual cafeteria and the elegant, wood-paneled Grill Room with its fine china and white tablecloths. I can easily picture the late Lady Eaton enjoying a fresh slice of her favourite cake, which used to be available in every Eaton’s store across Canada, served in four luxurious layers with a red rose perched on top. Very romantic!
Ingredients:
• 2½ cups cake flour
• 1½ cups of white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces of red food colouring
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
2. Generously grease three 9-inch round cake pans or one 9x13-inch pan or one 12-cup muffin pan lined with either paper or silicone cups (may produce more depending on the size of your pan).
3. Sift the cake flour and set aside.
4. Make a paste out of the red food colouring, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl cream the shortening. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy.
6. Add each egg one at a time and beat well after each addition.
7. Add the cocoa, food colouring and salt mixture. Combine well.
8. In a separate bowl, mix together the vanilla and buttermilk.
9. In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda and vinegar and add to the buttermilk and vanilla mixture.
10. Add the flour alternately with the buttermilk mixture to the shortening mixture, with 3 dry and 2 liquid additions, stirring just enough to blend each time.
11. When all the ingredients are in the large bowl, mix until smooth.
12. Pour into prepared pan of choice.
13. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until done. Ovens vary, so test doneness using a toothpick in the center (it should come out clean). Remove from oven.
14. Cool cake. Remember, the cake must be completely cool before you start to frost it or the icing will melt.
Original Buttercream Frosting
There are two schools of thought on frosting this cake. Some insist on cream cheese — my personal favourite — while others claim buttercream icing is the most authentic. This is the original recipe used on the Eaton’s version.
1. In a saucepan place 5 tablespoons of flour.
2. Gradually add 1 cup of milk.
3. Mix until completely smooth.
4. Cook gently at medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat to cool.
5. While the sauce is cooling, in a medium bowl cream together 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
6. Beat until light and fluffy.
7. Add the cooled sauce to the butter and sugar mixture, one spoonful at a time, beating well after each addition.
8. Spread frosting over the cooled cake. Enjoy!
Decorate your cake or cupcakes any way you like. You can add a few drops of red food colouring to make pink frosting, or more to create a deep red. I like to leave it white so that the red heart and pink dot sprinkles I use stand out more. You can also decorate them with fresh fruit like strawberries or raspberries and add mint leaves for contrast. There’s chocolate in the batter, so you can’t go wrong with chocolate curls or a drizzle of melted chocolate. For an even bigger wow factor, try edible flowers and finish that off with a dusting of edible gold flakes.
Happy Valentine’s Day!