Red Velvet Cake: Are People Doing it Wrong?

Wow, I did not know that this cake was so demanding. Here are 8 rules that you have to follow for the right sort of Red Velvet Cake.

1. The cake must have some cocoa, but not too much because it is not a chocolate cake.

2. The cake must have red food coloring; beet juice does not add the right kind of red.

3. The cake must have cream cheese frosting.

4. There should be pecans. (This was news to me.)

5. You must use high-quality ingredients, including White Lily flour, a Southern specialty flour.

6. Precise measurements and meticulous attention to detail are key for this cake; therefore, it must be made in small, easy-to handle, family-sized batches. (Mass-produced batter just doesn't cut it. Sorry, large-scale bakeries.)

7. You must use a hand-held electric mixer, not a stand mixer: Larger machines can over-mix the batter, which sometimes prevents the cake from rising properly.

8. Red velvet cake batter needs vegetable oil, not butter or shortening. Oil yields a very moist cake.

I have had Red Velvet Cake a few times and I really enjoy it but not as much as a standard Choclate Devils Food Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting. The sweet of that kind of cake and the sour of the frosting is a good combo.