Every now and then I get the question, "where does red velvet come from?"

Like all of my customers I'm also curious and also wondered where this simple recipe for what is a delicious and elegant base to some of the most beautiful cupcakes and cakes originated.

Let's start with the basics from which all three versions stem from. Red velvet was popularized in the movie Steel Magnolias where a red velvet armadillo cake was served. From that movie the cake started being used as a base to many different desserts including cupcakes.

My search led me down three paths which I will share with you. Being a lover of food and not history I'll leave it up to my flourfriends to decide which they like best.

The first and probably most argued is the story of a woman who was dinning at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and tasted the red velvet cake. Upon her return to California she could not get the cake off of her mind so she wrote the hotel, got the name of the chef and asked him for the recipe. The chef sent her the recipe along with a bill for $300 for his services. Outraged she went to a lawyer who told her that she in fact was responsible for paying for the chef's services since she never asked what his fees were in advenced. She swallowed the proverbial jagged pill and sent the cheque. Revenge being sweet and as far as dishes go, best served cold, she printed the recipe on cards and started handing it out to everyone along her travels.(1)

Maybe it's me but the idea of a chef willingly parting with a recipe without any guarantee of book deal or royalty, is a far fetched one. More far fetched is someone a continent away parting with $300 plus lawyer fees willingly and after already having received the recipe. While for me the least believable it is the most fun version because it is full of travel adventure, intrigue and drama.

Next version which is by far the most credible is that that red velvet is a spin off from Devil's food cake food. The recipe for red velvet cake consists of chocolate, vinegar and baking soda. When combined these ingredients undergo a chemical reaction which yields a red hue(2). This however is a faint red and not what you see in your typical cake.

In the 1930's Adam's Extracts, a company in texas,  was struggling through the depression years. John A. Adams decided to place in his points of sale across the country tear-off recipe cards for red velvet that used his vanilla extract and food coloring to make the red velvet cake with the deepest red anyone has ever seen. This idea became wildly successful and gives John A. Adams the credit for the mordern day red velvet cake(3)

Third version like most great inventions originates in Canada with our favorite department store. Red Velvet was a popular cake at the bakeries of the Eaton's Department store. Legend has it that the recipe was a well guarded secret of Lady Eaton herself and that the bakers and employees in the bakery were sworn to secrecy.(4)

Each story unique and as intriguing as the red velvet cake itself.

Happy Baking! :)

1. Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings. New York: W.W. Norton, 1989.

2. http://www.adamsextract.com/recipes.asp?recipeID=66

3. Beard, James and Thollander, Earl. James Beard's American Cookery. New York, Budget Book, 1996.

4. Anderson, Carol; Katharine Mallinson (2004). Lunch with Lady Eaton:Inside the Dining Rooms of a Nation. Toronto: ECW Press

This works for most if not all baked goods, cupcakes, cakes, etc...

Every beginner suffers from the whipsaw effect. Their first attempt the cupcakes come out either too soft or over baked. On the second try the fear of having the cupcake end up like the first batch forces to overcompensate and swing the opposite extreme. Here are two simple ways to ensure that your baking comes out perfect every time.

1. Near the end of baking time while your cupcakes are still in the oven gently press against one of them with your index finger; careful not to touch the metal or burn your finger. This needs to be done quickly so that your finger doesn't burn. If it springs back to its original shape then the top of the cake is perfectly baked. 

2. After you've confirmed the outer part of the cake time to use a toothpick or skewer and gently insert it into the cake. If it comes out clean then your batch is ready to be taken out. If it has batter on it when you take it out then your batch needs a few more minutes in the oven.

Two simple and easy steps to ensure you have the perfect cupcake every time. 

Happy baking,

Flourgirls.

Looking for a way to make those cupcakes pop with something special?

How about piping them with a multi-colour swirl of icing!

For that multicolour look place the icing bag on the table, lift the bag open and slide the icing in one colour layer at a time. When you pipe the icing through the tip you will get that beautiful multicolor swirl every time.

Happy baking! 

Conversions…

Following up on the importance of accuracy from last week we’re providing some simple conversions. A great source of confusion and frustration comes when baking cupcakes, cookies and cakes because the product at most markets comes in mass equivalents (grams, Kg and Oz) but, recipes are written for the most part in volume (cups, teaspoons, and table spoons). I’m not even going to attempt to go into a high school chemistry lecture as it wasn’t my forte to begin with and I don’t want to bore anyone. Simply put, great care needs to be used when converting volume (i.e. cups, litres) into weights (oz, lbs, gm, Kg) because of the differences in densities of ingredients. As an example a gram (gm) of liquid will take up less volume than a gm of flour which is light and fluffy. Even dry ingredients differ greatly in their densities (i.e. sugar, flour).

I’ve provided a simplified table that might help you when taking your recipe to the market to purchase your products or even reading recipes that where written in English versus Metric. Remember that there are 1,000 grams in a Kilogram. If you need to use grams instead simply multiply 1,000 by the Kg ratio. 

Happy Baking! 

Flourgirls cupcakes, cookies and cakes can be pretty and whimsical however, that is the final artistic component. The wonderful texture and delicious taste you get from a well baked cupcake actually comes from using fresh and high quality ingredients that we spoke about last week, and the baking process which requires absolute accuracy! This may be why there aren't as many TV shows about the actual baking process as there are about the final icing and sculpting of cakes and cupcakes.

To help in making accurate measurements easier always use metal measuring cups for dry ingredients such as flour and sugar and a glass measuring cup for liquid ingredients such as milk and eggs.

Metal or plastic measuring cups allow you to scoop out the ingredient and scrape off the excess with the back of a kitchen knife. Glass or transparent measuring cups allow you to see through the cup at eye level to ensure you have the precise amount of liquid in the cup.

This is one of the many tips to make your cookies, cupcakes, and cakes absolutely delectable.

Happy baking and see you next week!