Saturday, February 13, 2010

Mama's Red Velvet Cake

A classic southern cake that usually makes its appearance over the Christmas holidays.
A classic southern cake that usually makes its appearance over the Christmas holidays.

Mama's Red Velvet Cake


This was a traditional Christmas cake around our house growing up and it is as moist as it is pretty. I can barely think of Red Velvet Cake without thinking of my Mama, and it is the Christmas season where my heart gets real heavy on missing her.

I have heard that there is a newer evolution of red velvet cake that substitutes cooking oil for the real butter used in the original cake. I can't imagine why. Why you would want the oily residue of a cooking oil versus the flavor impact and richness of butter is beyond me, though I think it probably has something to do with the mouth feel texture result, which would probably be somewhat similar to a box cake mix that so many people use. If so, then just use the box mix I say! As far as me, I don't know that I'll go messing around with something that I know is delicious and good... and works!

That, of course, brings me to another thing. Over mixing batter and over measuring - two things that often cause the failure of baked goods in a home cook. A lot of us are guilty of the scoop method of measuring - meaning you take your one cup measure and scoop it into the flour bag and shake off anything that tops over. Nothing could be worse in a cake. Scooping causes the flour to compact in the measuring cup and the results are often that you are actually using quite a bit more flour than you intended to. The right way to measure is to spoon into the measuring cup from the bag or canister until the measuring cup is overflowing, then use the straight edge of a knife to level off the top.

The other thing is not being familiar enough with the way your oven bakes. The only way you can know that, is from how often your result matches a recipe, versus having to remove something sooner or bake something longer. You can also use an oven thermometer as a back up to see if your oven temperature match what your thermostat says. Every oven bakes differently and over time and use of your own, you will know how to make adjustments. Always check your cakes first about 5 to 10 minutes out from the earliest recommended cooking time and no sooner. Opening the oven too early will make the oven temperature fluctuate and often results in a cake to fall in the center.

This is a very special cake in my family - and meant to be made from scratch in my opinion. It's my Mama's recipe, and I promise it will be worth every single ounce of energy you put into it, so long as you make it according to the recipe and directions, and don't make any substitutions. I hope that it becomes a special Christmas cake for you, but by the way, it's also the perfect cake for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

For more of my favorite cake recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!



If you make this or any of my recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!



Yum


Unable to view the printable below on your device? Tap/click here.


Posted by on February 13, 2010

Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, do not copy and paste post or recipe text to repost or republish to any social media (such as other Facebook pages, etc.), blogs, websites, forums, or any print medium, without explicit prior permission. Unauthorized use of content from ©Deep South Dish is a violation of both the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright law. All rights reserved.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
M111019
.

As an Amazon Associate, Deep South Dish earns from qualifying purchases. See full disclosure for details.




Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Articles on this website are protected by copyright. You are free to print and sharing via Facebook share links and pinning with Pinterest are appreciated, welcomed and encouraged, but do not upload and repost photographs, or copy and paste post text or recipe text for republishing on Facebook, other websites, blogs, forums or other internet sites without explicit prior written approval.
Click for additional information.


© Copyright 2008-2024 – Mary Foreman – Deep South Dish LLC - All Rights Reserved

Material Disclosure: This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from the provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.





Email Subscription DSD Feed