Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake

Originally uploaded by ted_major

Say what you will, the Red Velvet Cake is the cake of all cakes: it’s chocolate, it’s red, it has white fluffy icing, and it even has it’s own urban legend. Before there was the Nieman Marcus Cookie, there was the Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake.  I have taken some liberty in substituting a boiled frosting for the original milk and flour-based frosting, but here is “the” Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbs. vinegar (mixed with)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 oz. (2 Tbs.) red food coloring
• 4 Tbs. cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. flour
• 1 c. buttermilk

Cream sugar and butter, then add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add food coloring and vanilla; beat well.

Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt. Add alternately with buttermilk and vinegar-soda mix. Always add some flour last.

Bake 30minutes at 350F in 2 8″ cake pans. Cool and split layers. Frost–I like boiled frosting, original frosting recipe follows.

Boiled Frosting:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs white corn syrup
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
• a few grains salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Boil together sugar, corn syrup, and water until it reaches 240F. Beat the egg whites with salt until stiff. Pour the hot syrup slowly over them beating constantly until all the syrup is used. Add vanilla and beat until mixed.

Waldorf-Astoria Frosting

• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. flour
• pinch salt
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1/s c. shortening
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cook milk and flour together in a double boiler until thick. While hot, add pinch of salt. Set aside and cool.

In mixer, beat vanilla,sugar, butter, and shortening at high speed until fluffy. Add milk and flour mixture, beat until fluffy, and spread.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Chocolate Valentine’s Cake

Originally uploaded by ted_major

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Election-night cake

Looks good–wish I’d seen it in time to stop by the store on the way home:

Coffee, chocolate, and bourbon

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

Originally uploaded by ted_major

Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting
Cake ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C. flour
• 2 Tbs. dutch-process cocoa (I used Hershey’s Dark)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 C. milk
• 1/2 C. canola oil
• 2 eggs

Frosting ingredients:

• 2/3 C. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips (or 9 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped)

The cake:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch cake pan (Pam baking spray is fast & easy, but use oil & flour if you prefer).
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a large mixing cup mix liquid ingredients and eggs. Pour liquids into bowl and mix until smooth.
Bake 35 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean).
Cool completely (refrigerate for 30 mins to an hour if necessary) and slice into 2 thin layers.
The frosting:
Heat cream in a small saucepan–you want the cream hot enough to melt the chocolate, but not scalded or simmering. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth. Cool until thickened.
Ice the cake and chill in the refrigerator to harden the frosting.
Adapted from the Easy Chocolate Cake recipe at CacaoWeb. Thanks!