Last weekend we celebrated my aunt’s and brother’s brithdays. I was going to bake just one cake but then felt bad that they would have to share so I baked off two. A red velvet cake for my aunt and an oreo cheesecake for brother dearest.
I’ve never eaten red velvet cake before but have heard so much about it… and I must say that the color of the cake is what always gets me so enthralled. The possibilty of a cake being, of all colors, red… gasp. That ranks right up there with delicate gingerbread houses and clouds of caramel flavored meringues (I have ingenious food fantasies, as you can see).
As much as it was always at the back of my mind, I did not originally plan to make a red velvet for the birthdays because I didn’t want to risk a brand new recipe for a party. What if it didn’t turn out? And I’d never had a red velvet cake before, so I had no basis of comparison to know if I got it right.
But when I read Deb’s entry, this phrase just jumped up at me:
“People go ape shit over red velvet cake”
Okay, now… the possibility of such a reaction was just too cool to pass up. Apeshit over cake? C’mon I gotta see that!
So I read through the recipe a few times, decided I could manage it and went to work. I 2/3rd her recipe (using basically 2 egg- quantity of batter instead of 3) and made two 8″ cakes. I sliced each cake into half and got 4 layers. It turned out to be quite a tall cake… I think the original recipe would have made something really quite massive. I sandwiched and frosted everything with thin layers of cream cheese and mascarpone frosting, which made the cake even taller. I was afraid the frosting amount would be too skimpy but it worked out in the end… perfect cake to frosting ratio. As for the decor, I didn’t want to do anything too fancy, so I decided to keep it quite classic with a wreath of wafer roses and buttercream leaves.
Verdict:
Apeshit.
They went apeshit.
Superbly moist cake, laced with cocoa flavor. And the burgundy color… gorgeous!
Sliced into… it was delicious, the tangy-sweet frosting pairing perfectly with the fluffy crumb.
Taste Goblet 
The roses are amazing! What a gorgeous cake, and it looks so moist and tasty!
Oh my god this looks AMAZING. Your decorating job is flawless, and I love that you used a cream cheese/marscapone frosting. The original recipe I pulled this from actually suggested such a frosting, but I copped out for something more traditional. I will definitely try that next time.
I’d go apeshit too. Your family knows how to react 😀
meeso, I can’t take credit for the roses… they are simply wafer roses I bought…all i had to do was arrange them onto a circle of piped buttercream leaves!
deb, I have trouble with traditional cream cheese frosting… it always comes out almost liquidy. bleah. I like the addition of mascarpone becuase it fluffs up the frosting, and keeps it soft even when it’s in the fridge. And of course, its so darn tasty 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe, I absolutely loved this cake!
Shammi, yes, when it comes to food, you can always count on my family to be appreciative *grin*
mannnnnnn that’s an IMMACULATE CAKE!!!
ahaha, thanks babe!
looks yummy and gorgeous. u are back to baking!
yes babe i’m back! 🙂
i tried out this recipe and the cake itself turned out awesome. honestly, it’s one of the softest cakes i’ve ever baked.
but the cream cheese frosting was really runny.. i tried putting it in the fridge, but the moment i took it out, it started getting drippy and really soft. i was wondering if you had any idea why this would be the case? like does it get runny if i overbeat the cheese or sth? i followed your recipe to a T, the one with mascarapone, philly cream cheese and butter.
anyways, i love the way you decorate your cakes. you’re so awesome! did you take any classes? i wish i could be half as good.. you rock!
Diya dear, I used to have the same problem with cream cheese frostings i.e. runny, unpipe-able consistency.
And yes, I think overbeating the cheese causes that to happen. Why don’t you try this next time:
using the same philly, mascarpone and butter recipe on my site, cream together the softened butter, Philly and vanilla for 30 seconds until smooth. Add the sifted icing sugar and cream until just combined, maybe another 30 seconds. Then gently stir in the cold mascarpone (just take it straight from the the fridge, don’t let it sit out at room temp). Mix with beaters on low speed just until the mascarpone is combined with the creamed mixture and the frosting is creamy, about 10 seconds.
I hope this method yields a creamier consistency!
hey , it looks absolutely beautiful. Can you please tell me where can i get these wafer roses, what store, and whether i can get the leaves too in some store? Thanks
Hi neetu, sorry for the majorly late reply!
I got the mini wafer roses at phoon huat and the leaves were piped on with buttercream..
hope that helps!
Hi Happy New Year
Jus came across your blog today. Simply love the colourful photos on your blog. Really appreciate your posting of them and recipes.
i love your cakes, they are so beautiful….where would i find the recipe you used for the oreo cheesecake, it looks divine and my family likes really dense cheesecakes and all the ones with oreo that I have found are too light for them.
hi there…
may i know if there is any after taste when u bake the red velvet as i was reading deb entry.. some said there were bitter after taste…
thanks