Thursday, December 16, 2010

Award Winning Red Velvet Cake


The deep, rich, gorgeous color of Red Velvet Cake
make it perfect for Christmas.


I didn't grow up with Red Velvet Cake, but my husband
did.  His Grandma Eunice made it for him whenever he
came to visit.  She would keep one in the freezer to
frost if family came into town.


She continued this once we were married and would
even frost one and send it with Kirk's parents when they
were coming through on their way to our house.
After Grandma died the siblings decided to have a
contest to see which version they had of Grandma's
Red Velvet cake was the best.  We all met at a family
reunion in Seattle and had a bake-off.  Two sisters and
one brother entered the bake off.  I was a blind and
impartial judge as a non-blood family member and my
husband was a blind judge as a family member.

My husband's brother, Greg won the competition with this
recipe with the bragging rights that come along with it
.  That was a proud moment for him to beat out
his two sisters who are great cooks.  I present you
with that recipe (which I have tweaked to make it a 3 layer
cake and I have chosen a different frosting too!)


I present it on this fabulous cake stand by Dept 56
Krinkles High Heel cake platter.  You can find
some of these on ebay (I just checked).
This was a gift a few years ago.  This cake stand
goes well with my
that I posted yesterday with the red heels.


I topped it with white chocolate trees, silver
sparkles and white edible pearls and finish
it off with red hots to echo the design around the
cake platter.



The white chocolate trees are made simply by melting white
chocolate coating discs and piping them onto parchment paper.
I made the bottoms a little thicker with a thick trunk so that
they would hold upright in the frosting.


This cake was made for a party that we had to bring
the cake to so I made a few extra trees in case of
breakage on the way, and sure enough, we went over
a speed bump and lost a few but had several to
repair the damage.



Red Velvet Cake Recipe
(Makes 3 - 8 or 9 inch layers)

2 1/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 T. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 T. cocoa
3 oz. red food coloring
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. buttermilk
3 3/4 C. flour
1 1 /2 tsp. vanilla
     Cream sugar and oil, then mix in eggs one at a time, beating
 after each one. 
     Mix vinegar and soda and set aside.
     Add cocoa and food coloring to egg mix (you can cut it to
2 oz, but it won't be as vibrant of a red.)
   Beat in the flour alternating with the buttermilk.  Add soda
mix and vanilla. 
     Line bottoms of 3- 8 inch pans with parchment paper.  Do
 not grease the pans.  Pour batter evenly into the pans.  Bake
at 350 for 30 minutes or until springs back.
     The traditional frosting is a cooked frosting, or a cream
cheese frosting, which I love, but I like it even better with the
 following frosting.

           
                                      Audra's Marshmallow Frosting
(My daughter in law introduced me to this frosting and it is perfect.)

Cream together 2 1/4 C. soft butter and 24 oz. marshmallow
 creme.  Add 1 1/2 tsp clear vanilla and 3/4 C. powdered
sugar (yes, very littlepowdered sugar to lots of butter and lots
 of marshmallow, but you won't believe how incredible it is!)


 Now red velvet cake is a part of our family traditions,
I have even made a purple velvet cake for my birthday
last year!

Try it, I have tried many red velvet cakes and I agree
with the results of the contest, this one is award winning.

Perfect for a holiday cake.

This cake will be going to these parties

32 comments:

  1. What a lovely story. Your cake plate is perfect for this lovely cake!!! And it's so nice to see a red velvet cake that's actually red. So many times they're a reddish brown color. Anyway, I'm off to find your purple velvet cake.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  2. Maybe I will have pictures of the Purple Velvet Cake this January when my birthday rolls around again!

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  3. I've baked a 2-layer red velvet cake a couple of times now but I am going to try your recipe, considering it has won awards! It looks absolutely delicious and I love the story behind it as well. I'm actually taking a red velvet cake to Xmas dinner this year so wish me luck!

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  4. What a beautiful, beautiful cake! I've seen many versions for the Red Velvet Cake - but never realized that it was PERFECT for Christmas! I love the height and the colour, and the christmas trees! Wow.

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  5. What a nice cake to have for Christmas - and your trees on top are fantastic!

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  6. Your cake is so beautiful! We love Red Velvet Cake in our house too and I was just thinking of baking one tomorrow for my husbands birthday, I usually use a recipe from martha stewart but I think I'll be trying your family recipe now! Thanks so much:)

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  7. Wowwwww!! this is the most beautiful christmas cake ever !!!...it looks so nice and that colors are amazing !!!...happy weekend darling.....love love love Ria....xxxx....yammie....yes yes yes!!

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  8. Perched on those boots and crowned with the white trees..

    It's just magnificent!

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  9. oh, Oh, OH! Beautiful! Thank you SO much for the recipe! Have a nice weekend! Twyla

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  10. That cake plate is the BOMB! and we love red velvet around here as well, so this is something I will try for sure, happy weekend,

    anne
    www.anniebakes.net

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  11. Wow!! You always amaze me!!! BEAUTIFUL!

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  12. Gorgeous!!! I love that they had a bake off!! Awesome!

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  13. Now honey, this is surely the most beautiful Red Velvet Cake I've ever seen! Looks like she's all dressed up, with somewhere to go — my tummy.

    I grew up on Red Velvet Cake and have made many, your BIL's recipe looks delish, but I would substitute cake flour, it makes for a more tender cake and a better texture in my book. (1 cup plus 2 T. for each cup of all-purpose.)

    I am definitely going to give that marshmallow icing a twirl, looks fabulous. I always made mine with the typical cream cheese and while I love it, it never hurts to mix things up a bit. Last year I tried Paula Deen's icing recipe which combines cream cheese and marshmallow — oh yeah, it was so good.

    I love family bake off's, we always give a "Golden Spoon Award" at our family reunions. Lots of fun and everybody cooks and bakes like crazy in anticipation of winning. Makes for some mighty fine eating.

    Merry Christmas!

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  14. That looks delicious and really moist. Most that I have had were rather dry. I love your memories associated with it too.

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  15. Wow! The marshmallow frosting sounds amazing! Love the trees too! Kerri

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  16. I think I'm gunna try this out for our Christmas party tomorrow! :D
    Looks easier...and TASTIER than the cheesecake I planned on making!

    Happy holidays ma'am! You are always so inspiring! <3

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  17. Your cake is just GORGEOUS! I love the story behind it too! This recipe is a keeper. Did you know I have never made a red velvet cake?!? I've come to the right place:)

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  18. This cake is gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. And I LOVE the cake stand!! What a perfect party dessert. Anxious to try this and bookmarking it now. Have a great weekend!

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  19. These pics of the cake, along with the cake plate are just wonderful! Joni

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  20. I tried it. I semi-failed. Haha!
    (Details on my blog!)

    I'm just hoping when I get to the final stage, I can get it to look pretty! Hahaha!

    I will attempt it again though...with BETTER preparation.

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  21. Love that cake plate. Your cake looks divine.. scrumptious..a winner for sure. Merry Christmas

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  22. Your story is just great, and that is one beautiful cake. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will be sure to try it. I have never made any frosting except the traditional one that goes with RV, but I will sure try this one. That cake stand is just a hoot!

    Pat

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  23. Red Velvet is one of my favorite cakes!! I love how you decorated yours with the Christmas trees.
    Thanks for sharing the recipes.
    Merry Christmas,
    Ann
    @
    The Tattered Tassel

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  24. Oh my Gosh Jacqueline, that cake is beautiful! Those Christmas trees are amazing. Love Red Velvet cake. I'll have to try this award winning recipe, but I probably won't be trying your fancy decorations for the top. The icing recipe sounds good too. Saving both recipes. That cake stand is soooo cute! Thank you for sharing them for Favorite Things Sat. That cake stand is soooo cute! laurie

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  25. Jacqueline, I grew up with red velvet cake. I HAVE to try your recipe. Love the idea of the white trees on top, and of course you know how I adore your darling cake stand. Have to find myself one of these. The icing looks like a nice alternative to the regular one that must be refrigerated. Thanks for sharing these recipes.
    Enjoy the cake! ~ Sarah

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  26. I made this cake for Christmas day and it was a huge hit! Thanks so much for the recipe

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  27. I really wish I had seen this post during the holidays, but I fell behind on my blog reading. My mom loves, loves, loves red velvet cake. I've been using a box mix (I know, horrors) telling them that I would make it from scratch IF I had a recipe that I knew would yield good results. Now I've found yours and I'm not at home anymore. Oh well, there's always next year. Believe me, this cake will make an appearance on my family's table.

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  28. What a fun story! The cake is beautiful and I can't even find the right words to describe how excited I am about that cake stand. It is one of the most unique I've ever seen. You have the cutest props Jackie!

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  29. I have no idea how I found you girl, but this cake looks Devine!!!
    My godmother used to make me a red velvet cake for my birthday...I LOVE your version. I'm 56 and can still taste my Aunty Anne's cake.
    Your blog is wonderful, and I don't even cook!!!
    Love from Canada
    xoxoxoxoxo

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  30. Your Red Velvet cake is Beautiful & that stand is Awesome with it! I used to make RV cakes every Christmas for my family but I'm alone now. Seeing your cake brings back a lot of memories. Thanks for sharing the memories that go with your family's recipe. Merry Christmas! Linda

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  31. I have that same recipe that my mom had. She had won a lot of blue ribbons. The only thing is my mom didn't put the coco in hers. Yay don't like coco. I am 54 years old and I grew up on this recipe.

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