Recipe - Red Velvet Cake With History

2 One fourth cup Cake flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Salt
One fourth cup Baking cocoa
1 One half cup Sugar
1 One half cup Oil
2 Eggs
2 teaspoon To 1 ounce of red food color
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon White vinegar
1 cup Buttermilk
Frosting:
1 pack 8 ounce cream cheese
1 Stick butter
1 pound Box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Milk as needed

Red velvet cake also known as the $100 dollar cake, $200 dollar cake, or
Waldorph Astoria Cake is only a legend as is the Nieman Marcus cookies and
all are examples of a legend that pits institutions against a consumer who
feels he/she has been unfairly charged.The recipe is a grass roots recipe
not an institutional one.

James Beard outlines in his American Cookery that there is really 3
varieties of red velvet cake, recipes being different in the use of butter,
vegetable shortening ( crisco ) and oil.Most all call for cake flour and
buttermilk, baking soda and vinegar for the leaving process.

The redness of the cake comes from red food color despite the chemical
reaction of baking soda, vinegar , buttermilk and cocoa which cause a
reddish brown color, not red in the cake.

This cake is moist and red with a velvety texture and the flavor
nondistinctive as is most red velvet cakes. Red Velvet cake is also
cultural as recipes differ in community cookbooks accross America even as
to the type of frosting for the cake. The moistest cake is one made with
oil and cake flour.The amount of food color is up to you.Start with 2
teaspoons as a base.

The above recipe comes from:" Celebrating Our Mothers' Kitchen", a
fundraising cookbook published by The National Council for Negro Woman.

Preparation: Grease and flour 2, 9 inch pans and line with paper.In a large
bowl combine flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt. In another bowl with mixer
at low speed or spoon beat sugar and oil until blended. Add eggs, one at a
time to blend well.Blend in food color, vanilla and vinegar.Scape bowl down
with spatula. Alternately blend in flour mixture and buttermilk, using
about 1/3 each time and scraping bowl down at least twice. Do not beat on
high or cake will be tough.Pour into prepared pans and bake in a preheated
350 degree oven 20 to 25 minutes or tested done with toothpick.Cool on
racks 5 minutes and remove from pan and cool completely.Frost layers when
cold.Beat cream cheese until softened and smooth. Add butter and continue
to beat till softened. Beat in sugar a little at a time and then vanilla.If
too thick blend in cold milk a tablespoon at a time till desired
consisitency.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini