Red velvet is a deep red, soft sponge under white cream cheese frosting. The usual failure is a dry or dull sponge. The cause: too much flour or too much mixing, and not enough acid to keep the crumb tender.
What it is made of
Top to bottom:
- Cream cheese frosting ×3 · 1.0 cm
The coating
- Red velvet sponge ×3 · 2.5 cm
Three sponges, three layers of frosting (the top one is the coating).
The sponge is made with oil and buttermilk and a small amount of cocoa. Oil keeps it moist; the buttermilk’s acid works with baking soda for a soft, open crumb. The red comes from food colouring: cocoa alone gives a faint reddish brown. Some recipes use beetroot, but the colour is paler and carries a taste.
An honest note: the traditional frosting for this cake is a cooked one (“ermine”) on a flour and milk base. Cream cheese frosting is simpler and quicker, but softer.
Order of work
Sponges: eggs, buttermilk and oil at room temperature. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, soda, cocoa) and the wet ones separately, then combine for 10 to 15 seconds, until the dry flour just disappears. Lumps are fine: long mixing develops gluten and the sponge turns tough. Fill the tins no more than two thirds. Bake at about 170 to 180 °C until a skewer is dry. If you have no buttermilk, use kefir or milk with a few drops of lemon juice; the acid is needed both for the soda and for tenderness. Cool in the tin 10 to 15 minutes, then on a rack. Do not wrap warm.
Cream cheese frosting: beat soft butter with icing sugar until white, add cold cheese and beat about 30 seconds, no longer: past that it turns runny. A cheap cheese is as good as an expensive one as long as it is firm. The frosting keeps two days.
Assembly:
- Sponge, a rim of frosting around the edge, frosting inside.
- Repeat for the next layers.
- Apply a thin crumb coat, chill 20 minutes, then the final coat.
What can go wrong
- Dull, brownish sponge. Not enough colour, or over-baked. Gel colouring gives a stronger red than liquid.
- Dry sponge. Too much flour or an oven that is too hot.
- Runny frosting. The cheese was over-beaten or warm.
- The cake slides. No frosting rim.
The verdict
Short mixing and acid decide this cake. Mix the batter as little as possible and add the cheese last.
