In our American culture cake equals celebration. We serve cake at birthday parties, baby showers, wedding showers, wedding receptions, promotion parties, and graduations. Virtually any event can be turned into a commemoration simply by adding cake!
Cake and icing are as diverse as the events they frequent. There are the traditional flavors like chocolate and vanilla or for the more daring, strawberry and lemon. Then there is red velvet.
Red velvet, two adjectives more likely to describe a couch than a cake flavor. If an alien landed on Earth and wanted to know what red velvet cake tastes like, where would you begin explaining? Red is a color, and color has no taste. Cherry, strawberry and fruit punch are all flavors that happen to be red, but none of them would adequately describe the taste of red velvet.
The Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York dubbed their red velvet confection the Waldorf-Astoria cake. Perhaps the association with a fancy hotel is why red velvet is considered such a highfalutin choice today.
Interestingly enough, red velvet is widely considered a Southern recipe. I was raised in the South, but I do not recall ever being served such a supposed delicacy by any Southern gentility. Us plain folk simply refer to it by its real moniker, chocolate cake.
That’s right, look at any recipe for red velvet cake and guess what ingredient you will discover? Cocoa. And what is cocoa? Bingo!! Chocolate. So please tell me why recent years have seen an increase in the popularity of red velvet cakes and cupcakes? It’s just chocolate cake with an upmarket name.
Personally, I am not fan. Assuming I eaten no food in last thirty days, chocolate cake would provide absolutely zero temptation. Now chocolate icing is a totally different story, that I would eat that out of the jar, no cake required.
If you are a red velvet fan, please do not be distressed, continue eating your fancy cake, heck, you can eat mine too, just do so armed with the knowledge that it is really just chocolate cake all dressed up in designer duds. Happy Eating!
Until Next Time,
Becky J Miller
Warrior Princess