Our Holiday Favorite: Red Velvet Cake

Christmas at the Trimm House would not be complete without our holiday favorite: red velvet cake! This decadent treat can be served at any time of the year – and believe me, my mom and I have made them for many different occasions – but the red velvet cake is the proverbial cherry on top of our Christmas celebrations.

This recipe is the exact same one we have been preparing for every single year since I can remember. It comes from an antique cookbook of my mother's that is a compilation of recipes from women across the state of Alabama. The author of this recipe is a Ms. Ruth Stovall. I've tried different red velvet recipes over the years, but Ms. Stovall's is the hands-down favorite of everyone. It's rich and moist without being too dense but not overly dainty or delicate.

Now, I've made a couple of tweaks to the recipe to suit my own taste. However, just be sure to follow the recipe as closely as possible; otherwise, you may end up with a fragile, crumbly cake. If your cake does fall apart, however, don't sweat it! Just make a red velvet trifle – which just happens to be the most requested dish of mine by my grad school colleagues. Also, we must discuss the topic of pecans. Most Southerners would consider it blasphemous to omit pecans from the frosting. However, I prefer the velvety texture of the cake and simple frosting on their own, so I don't add any nuts unless someone requests them. If you want to add them to the frosting or top the finished cake with chopped pecans, by all means, indulge! It's the holidays!

Red Velvet Cake

2 ½ cups self-rising flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cocoa powder

1 cup buttermilk

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

1 tsp. white vinegar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. butter flavoring*

1 1 oz. bottle red food coloring

*The original recipe calls for an antiquated product known as butter-flavored Wesson oil. Some sources claim that this product is still available in very limited supply, but I have yet to find any. Therefore, I simply add a little butter flavoring to the batter. You can completely omit this ingredient, though, if you desire, but it does add an extra richness to the cake's flavor.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Incorporate wet ingredients in the order listed, and mix thoroughly until batter is evenly blended. Be extra careful with the red food coloring, as it will stain fabrics and some surfaces very easily!

Pour batter into two greased, parchment-lined 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from the pans and applying frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese

2 sticks of butter

2 1 lb. boxes of confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

(Add a cup of chopped pecans if desired)

Allow cream cheese and butter to come to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, cream together softened cream cheese and butter, add vanilla, then gradually add confectioner's sugar until frosting is evenly blended. Apply generously to cake as desired. 

(Have a Sweet Holiday!)

 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, everyone!