BLAC — Black Life, Arts & Culture

Black Folks Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Food + Drink — December 7, 2022 · Updated December 8, 2022 — By Darralynn Hutson

A Black Chef, Rufus Estes was 1st to include Red velvet cake in his 1911 cookbook “Good Things to Eat.”

Black Folks Red Velvet Cake Recipe — cover
Darralynn Hutson

December 7, 2022 · Updated December 8, 2022

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Black folks Red velvet cake is more than just a white cake dyed red, Red velvet is a celebration cake. After all, for us, red is the color of joy. It’s has buttery, with slightly tangy undertones that makes this cake such a sweet treat during the holidays.

It has history in the black community as it originated in a 1911 cookbook “Good Things to Eat,” authored by a former slave, Chef Rufus Estes who included the recipe for a sweet “velvet cake,” enriched with four eggs and almond flour. A true Red velvet cake bursts with flavors of bitter and sweet and has this particular cake has a unique recipe with no boxed red velvet cake mix required.

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Detroitfood

The Recipe

Red Velvet Cake

This Red Velvet Cake recipe is made from scratch for the best flavor and a moist, tender crumb that pairs wonderfully with a tangy, sweet cream cheese frosting. This is a classic cake recipe for a 2-layer red velvet cake that is quite possibly the best red velvet cake recipe in the world.

By Darralynn Hutson★ 3.4 (21)
Red Velvet Cake

Prep

20 minutes 20 minutes

Cook

40 minutes 40 minutes

Servings

4

Ingredients

  • •Vegetable oil for the pans followsCrushed pecans, for garnish
  • •2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • •1 1/2 cups sugar
  • •1 tsp baking soda
  • •1 tsp fine salt
  • •1 tsp cocoa powder
  • •1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • •1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • •1 large eggs at room temperature
  • •2 tbsp red food coloring (1 ounce)
  • •1 tsp white distilled vinegar
  • •1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. 1

    Preheat your oven to 350°F and prep your cake pans by lining them with circles of parchment paper in the bottoms, then spray bottoms and sides with cooking spray.

  2. 2

    Whisk all the dry ingredients together first – flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt – and set them aside.Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy – about 3-4 minutes using a hand mixer or stand mixer.

  3. 3

    Then add the oil and beat again, scraping down the sides of the bowl. The mixture will look a little curdled, but there's nothing to worry about.

  4. 4

    Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition, and vanilla.

  5. 5

    Then mix in the vinegar and food coloring.

  6. 6

    Alternately add ⅓ of the dry ingredients with ⅓ of the buttermilk, mixing just until combined after each addition and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, repeating until everything has been added.

  7. 7

    Pour the batter evenly between the two cake pans, then bake for 30-35 minutes (for 9-inch pans) or 38-43 minutes (for 8-inch pans), or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs. Be sure not to overbake.

  8. 8

    For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl using a handheld mixer until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

  9. 9

    Add the powdered sugar and cream or milk and mix on low speed until incorporated, then increase speed and beat for 2 minutes.

  10. 10

    Add vanilla and salt and beat again.

  11. 11

    Cool completely before leveling off the tops of each cake layer, if needed.

  12. 12

    Frost with cream cheese or ermine frosting.

Notes & Variations

Cake Pans: This recipe can be made with either two 8-inch or 9-inch baking pans to create two layers but you can make 3 or 4 layers. The baking time is 30-35 minutes for 9-inch pans and 38-43 minutes for 8-inch pans.

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