{"id":8400,"date":"2026-10-19T23:31:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8400"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:15","slug":"red-velvet-cake","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/red-velvet-cake\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Velvet Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

White cream divides layers of red cake. Red velvet cake is a North American cake, and the typical version uses a small amount of cocoa and a tangy dairy ingredient. Its vivid crimson makes a strong impression, but the name \u201cvelvet\u201d refers to a fine, soft crumb that feels like the fabric. The flavor of the cake changes with how the coloring is used, the kinds of tangy dairy and fat, and the formulation of the white cream spread over the surface.<\/p>\n

\n\"Red\n
Red velvet made at the Waldorf Astoria in New York (spring 2013). Cakes with the same name vary in the color of the cake, the number of layers and the style of decoration. Photo: Hennem08 \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Adding flour and buttermilk alternately to the butter and eggs<\/h2>\n

For a butter-based batter, room-temperature butter is mixed with sugar, and the eggs are added one at a time. Cocoa, coloring, salt, baking soda, vinegar and similar ingredients are combined, and then flour and buttermilk are added alternately. Starting and ending with flour lets ingredients of different consistencies blend in gradually and smoothly. Some recipes use low-fat plain yogurt in place of buttermilk.<\/p>\n

Baking soda reacts with the acids in the dairy and vinegar to produce gas, which helps the batter rise. The small amount of cocoa adds a gentle cacao aroma that the red color alone does not reveal. The choice of butter, shortening or vegetable oil also changes the mouthfeel and the order of mixing.<\/p>\n

The layers are baked in round pans, left to settle in the pans for a while, then turned out and cooled completely. The two layers can be stacked as they are, or each can be split horizontally to make four layers. When white cream is spread between the layers and over the top, bands of red and white appear in each cut slice. Covering the sides completely or leaving the layers visible also changes how the red cake looks.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
The cut surface of a red velvet with four layers of red cake (January 4, 2009). The photographer recorded it as a cake made with cream cheese icing. Photo: Flickr user ~Twon~ : https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/twon\/ \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Three kinds of white frosting<\/h2>\n

Ermine frosting is a light topping made by combining butter with a cooked mixture of flour and milk or similar liquids. In one method, sugar and flour are mixed, milk is added, and the mixture is cooked while stirring until it has a pudding-like consistency. After it cools, softened butter is added a little at a time, then vanilla is added and the mixture is whipped. The butter is added after the flour mixture has been cooked, and whipping turns it into a white cream.<\/p>\n

One way to make buttercream is to add powdered sugar, a little milk, vanilla and similar ingredients to softened butter and shortening until it is easy to spread. This sweet white layer of fat separates the red layers.<\/p>\n

Cream cheese topping, which is widely used today, adds the tang and richness of dairy. Combining cream cheese with mascarpone and then folding in separately whipped cream without deflating it gives a light cream that keeps the flavor of the cheese. The topping does more than make the cake look white: it determines the sweetness and tanginess of the whole cake.<\/p>\n

A hotel\u2019s published recipe that uses both beets and food coloring<\/h2>\n

The recipe that the Waldorf Astoria in New York currently publishes combines vegetable oil, eggs and sugar, then adds flour, melted chocolate, pur\u00e9ed beets and red food coloring. Its combination of ingredients differs from that of a butter batter made with buttermilk.<\/p>\n

Three layers are baked, cooled and leveled on top, then stacked with white layers of cheese and cream. Distinct from the combination of cocoa and soured milk, this is a method that adds beet pur\u00e9e and melted chocolate.<\/p>\n

A name for a soft crumb and the development of the red cake<\/h2>\n

In 19th-century America, the name \u201cvelvet\u201d was used for a variety of cakes to promise a soft mouthfeel. At the same time, bakers were also making dark chocolate devil\u2019s food cake and reddish-brown mahogany cake. In the early 20th century, these chocolate cakes and the idea of a soft crumb came together, and cakes made with cocoa and tangy dairy became widespread.<\/p>\n

The redness of the older cakes was brownish, unlike today\u2019s vivid red. The appearance of that color varied with the type and processing of the cocoa and with the formulation. Recipes (ingredient formulations and methods) that added red coloring to it became widespread, and the contrast in a cut slice became stronger.<\/p>\n

Adams, a Texas manufacturer of food colorings and flavorings, distributed a formula for cake made with red coloring on recipe cards that shoppers could take home from the store. In this formula, shortening and sugar are mixed, cocoa and red coloring are made into a paste and added, and flour and buttermilk are added alternately. It is also a cake for which the coloring and a recipe for baking it at home spread together.<\/p>\n

The 1976 color additive regulation and a 1989 film appearance<\/h2>\n

In the United States, the food coloring Red No. 2 was removed from the list of approved colors in 1976. Historian Ai Hisano describes how companies responded by holding back on selling red foods or by switching to other colorings.<\/p>\n

The 1989 film \u201cSteel Magnolias\u201d features a red groom\u2019s cake shaped like an armadillo. A Smithsonian Institution article on food culture also mentions the film when discussing the later rise in interest. The red interior also became a memorable sight in a scene celebrating a wedding.<\/p>\n

A specialty of a New York hotel and a Canadian department store<\/h2>\n

Red velvet is associated not only with the American South but also with the food culture of a New York hotel and of Eaton\u2019s department store in Canada. A cookbook that researched Eaton\u2019s restaurants and reworked their recipes for home cooks also presents it as one of the store\u2019s specialties.<\/p>\n

African American food culture and the Juneteenth table<\/h2>\n

In the United States, the cake also became part of African American food culture. Amy Ruth\u2019s, a soul food restaurant in Harlem, began serving it in 1998, and in 2000 Cake Man Raven opened a bakery in Brooklyn that made this cake its signature. A cake baked at home and for banquets also became a specialty that people bought by the slice in the city.<\/p>\n

Psyche Williams-Forson, a scholar of African American culture at the University of Maryland, explains that the red on the Juneteenth table is a color that recalls the bloodshed of slavery and the violence that continues to this day. This cake appears on the table alongside red drinks, fruit and other foods. Its association with this celebration came after the cake itself had come into being.<\/p>\n

The National Museum of African American History and Culture publishes a recipe for the cake as one of the dishes it presents for Juneteenth. In this finish, the trimmed red cake is made into fine crumbs, combined with pecans and pressed onto the sides. The top is left white, and the sides are decorated with crumbs of red cake.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
Red velvet photographed at Cafe Funicular in Tbilisi, Georgia (December 21, 2019). It is made as a small round cake with white cream piped on top. Photo: Misharim \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

From cake to \u201cred velvet\u2013flavored\u201d products<\/h2>\n

It is made not only as a large cake with several stacked layers but also as cupcakes. In the 2010s, the name also began to appear on breakfast menus and packaged snacks. The pancakes that IHOP offered for a limited time in summer 2012 combined a chocolate-flavored red batter with cream cheese icing, powdered sugar and a whipped topping. Although their form differs from the cake, they share the pairing of a red batter with something white, sweet and dairy-based.<\/p>\n

Oreo also announced in January 2016 that it would add a red velvet flavor to its permanent lineup in the United States. Here the name refers not only to a single old recipe but also to the flavor of a new product. The taste of the cake comes from the combination of tangy dairy, restrained cacao, a fine-textured crumb and a white topping.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Frosting<\/strong>: A topping made with sugar, fat and other ingredients and spread over the surface of a cake or between its layers.<\/p>

Buttermilk<\/strong>: In baking, this is often a fermented, tangy dairy product. It adds moisture and acid to the batter.<\/p>

Baking soda<\/strong>: Sodium bicarbonate. A leavening agent that produces gas when it reacts with acids and other substances.<\/p>

Ermine frosting<\/strong>: A light-textured topping made by cooking flour with milk or similar liquids and then combining it with butter.<\/p>

Devil\u2019s food<\/strong>: A type of American chocolate cake.<\/p>

Adams<\/strong>: An American manufacturer of food colorings and flavorings that distributed recipe cards for red velvet.<\/p>

Amy Ruth\u2019s \/ Cake Man Raven<\/strong>: A soul food restaurant in Harlem and a Brooklyn bakery that made red velvet its signature, respectively.<\/p>

IHOP<\/strong>: A restaurant chain, operating mainly in the United States, that serves pancakes and other dishes.<\/p>

Eaton\u2019s<\/strong>: A former Canadian department store chain. Its in-store restaurants also played a part in food culture.<\/p>

Ai Hisano<\/strong>: A historian who studies how the colors of food relate to companies and institutions. She discusses the regulation of Red No. 2 and its effects on the food industry.<\/p>

Psyche Williams-Forson<\/strong>: A scholar of African American food culture. She explains the red table at Juneteenth.<\/p>

Juneteenth<\/strong>: A day celebrated in the United States on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people.<\/p>

Crumbs<\/strong>: Fine fragments of cake. They are also used for the red decoration on red velvet.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. King Arthur Baking: Red Velvet Cake<\/a> \u2014 Butter batter, alternating additions of flour and soured milk, baking soda and vinegar, cooling and four layers, white buttercream, cupcakes.<\/li>
  2. King Arthur Baking: Ermine Frosting<\/a> \u2014 The full process of cooking flour, sugar and milk, cooling the mixture and adding butter. Distinguished from the method of cooking flour in butter.<\/li>
  3. Virginia Tech Special Collections: Let Them Eat Chocolate Cake<\/a> \u2014 Changes in chocolate cakes and white toppings, based on research into cookbooks in the collection. This article does not generalize all of the exhibit\u2019s own chemical explanations and estimated dates as they stand.<\/li>
  4. Interview with Stella Parks herself: The evolution of red velvet cake (2017)<\/a> \u2014 The velvet crumb, older chocolate cakes and reddish-brown color, the author\u2019s research. The audio was not listened to; the full transcript was read.<\/li>
  5. Adams\u2019s own 2012 press material (published on PRLog)<\/a> \u2014 Promotion of recipe cards and colorings; a recipe with shortening, a cocoa-and-coloring paste, vinegar and soured milk. The company\u2019s claim to priority as the world\u2019s first use of coloring is not adopted.<\/li>
  6. Hilton: Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake Recipe<\/a> \u2014 Combined use of beets and coloring, vegetable oil and chocolate, a topping of cheese and whipped cream. The hotel itself also presents the story of an expensive bill for the recipe as an urban legend.<\/li>
  7. York University: Dishing up some Canadian nostalgia (2004)<\/a> \u2014 An interview with the author and an introduction to the cookbook whose recipes the author actually made. The cake\u2019s place as an Eaton\u2019s specialty. Does not prove any inventor\u2019s priority.<\/li>
  8. Smithsonian NMAAHC: Juneteenth Red Velvet Cake<\/a> \u2014 The saved one-page PDF was also examined visually as an image on October 23, 2026. An illustration reading \u201cJUNETEENTH \/ CELEBRATION of RESILIENCE\u201d appears at the upper left, confirming that this is a recipe card for this observance. The text supports the cake\u2019s adoption in African American food culture, the vegetable-oil batter and the side finish of crumbs and pecans. It does not indicate the first year the cake was adopted for the observance or how widely it has spread across the community as a whole.<\/li>
  9. FDA, \u201cUncertified or Delisted Colors\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The end of Red No. 2\u2019s approval in 1976.<\/li>
  10. Ai Hisano, \u201cHow the Government Came to Decide the Color of Your Food\u201d<\/a> \u2014 How food companies responded after the color additive regulation. Does not show trends in cake sales.<\/li>
  11. Smithsonian, \u201cGoing Red Velvet for Valentine\u2019s Day\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A reference to the 1989 film. Not proof of a causal effect on sales.<\/li>
  12. Maryland Today, \u201cThe Flavors of Freedom\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Williams-Forson\u2019s explanation of the red table.<\/li>
  13. Smithsonian NMAAHC: Excerpt from the Sweet Home Caf\u00e9 Cookbook, Red Velvet Cake<\/a> \u2014 The entire published page was read. Amy Ruth\u2019s in 1998, Cake Man Raven in 2000, and the recipe. This is the museum\u2019s expert commentary on food culture, not an original record of when each business opened.<\/li>
  14. IHOP: A Trio of Signature Pancakes Take Center Stage (July 9, 2012; reprint of a corporate announcement)<\/a> \u2014 The full text of the announcement was read. Red chocolate-flavored pancakes, a cheese topping, a limited-time offering in summer 2012. Not used to estimate share of sales.<\/li>
  15. Mondel\u0113z International: Open Up with OREO (January 19, 2016)<\/a> \u2014 The \u201cOpening Up to New Flavors\u201d section and the date. The announcement at the time that the red velvet flavor would return and become a permanent item in the United States. This record does not establish whether it remains a permanent item today.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Red velvet cake is an American cake made of red layers stacked with white frosting. When it is cut, white lines run between the red layers, creating a clear color contrast. It is characterized by a small amount of cocoa combined with tangy dairy such as buttermilk. A single cake shows off both vivid looks and the softness of a fine crumb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7382,"menu_order":171,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Red velvet cake","subtitle":"Soft red cake with bands of white cream","topics":"Made with cocoa and tangy dairy\uff0fLayered with white after cooling\uff0fA culture of color that grew out of chocolate cakes","country":"United States","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["chocolate","cream","butter","egg"],"texture":["smooth"],"occasion":[],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[154],"class_list":["post-8400","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t