After heading down countless dead-end alleys and hitting walls in her search for the history of red velvet cake, frustrated reader Cathy Nolan turned to us.
While no one know exactly when and where Red Velvet Cake originated, a story (and a recipe) began circulating around the United States in the 1920s about a cake that supposedly was served at the restaurant in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Here’s an account of this urban legend as it appeared in Jan Brunvand’s book, The Vanishing Hitchhiker (W.W. Norton, 1989):
Our friend, Dean Blair, got on a bus in San Jose one morning and shortly after, a lady got on the bus and started passing out these 3 x 5 cards with the recipe for “Red Velvet Cake.” She said she had recently been in New York and had dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria and had this cake. After she returned to San Jose, she wrote to the hotel asking for the name of the chef who had originated the cake, and if she could have the recipe.
Subsequently she received the recipe in the mail along with a bill for something like $350 from the chef. She took the matter to her attorney, and he advised her that she would have to pay it because she had not inquired beforehand if there would be a charge for the service, and if so, how much it would be. Consequently, she apparently thought this would be a good way to get even with the chef.
Because of this story, and similar variations, Red Velvet Cake is also known as Waldorf-Astoria Cake, $100 Cake, $200 Cake, etc.
There’s also a scientific myth associated with Red Velvet Cake. It has sometimes been asserted that the cake’s red color comes from a chemical reaction between the baking soda and the chocolate in the recipe. This is the result of a simple misunderstanding of the chemistry involved. While cocoa powder contains anthocyanins (red vegetable pigments) they are only red in the presence of acids –they turn blue-green in the presence of bases. When cocoa is mixed with the baking soda, a base, the combination should turn the cake an unappetizing brownish-gray. It doesn’t, of course, because the anthocyanins are present in very small quantities, and any color shift is masked by the more prominent brown of the chocolate. The red color of the cake comes from a much simpler source: large amounts red food coloring.
The supposed red color resulting from the baking soda/cocoa combination also appears in connection with Devil’s Food Cake. I wonder if Red Velvet Cake was created because Devil’s Food Cake doesn’t look nearly as red as its name would suggest. This is akin to some folks adding green food coloring to Key Lime Pie because it doesn’t appear “limey” enough.
References
Beard, James and Thollander, Earl. James Beard’s American Cookery. New York, Budget Book, 1996.
Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings. New York: W.W. Norton, 1989.
McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner, 1997, (rev. 12004).
Article © 2002–2009 Gary Allen. All rights reserved.
Visit Gary’s Web site, On the Table.
I ate Red Velvet Cake for the first time in my life. I am not usually a fan of chocolate, but this cake was DELICIOUS!!!!! There was a creamy white frosting and the cake was so moist. So, just letting you all know…. this cake is to die for……
Dear Gary, thanks for the information on the chemistry of cocoa and baking soda. It’s also often said that natural cocoa powder can be leavened with baking soda while Dutched/alkalized will have no reaction with baking soda, thus requiring the use of baking powder.
From what you said about the insignificant quantity of anthocyanins in cocoa powder, it seems that, in reality, natural and alkalized cocoas probably act mostly in the same way. Is that correct? Thanks in advance!
Hi Anika,
I think we’re talking about two different issues.
Anthocyanins are pigments, and have little or no effect on leavening.
For baking soda to work (release CO2), it requires the presence of an acid. You can see this easily by dissolving some in plain water. You’ll see little or no bubbles. Add a small amount of vinegar and watch out!
Normal, unDutched cocoa is slightly acidic, so it could react with baking soda in a similar way, albeit more gently. Dutched cocoa has been treated with an alkaline substance that renders it chemically neutral or even alkaline — so it no longer contains an acid to react with the baking soda.
This may be more chemistry than you wanted — but, if not, you can read more at http://www.hersheys.com/nutrition-professionals/cocoa-powder/composition/physical-properties.aspx.
I found this very interesting! I have often wondered the origin of the Red velvet cake. I read on other posts on different blogs that the cake has a more southern tradition than a New York one. Either way, it can be a delicious cake when made well!
I agree, Steve. Red Velvet Cake is my absolute favorite, and I always think of it as a Southern treat…
Beth
I have not tried this recipe but I think red velvet cake is horrible! All I can imagine is the taste of red dye!!! I looked up the history as I thought it would have been a really old recipe that used tomatoes or beets in the cake. Why would red dye make a cake taste good???
That’s a curious question, Sue! All cakes should taste great. That’s why we’re especially glad Bea Vo’s recipe doesn’t use artificial red dye–you still get that beautiful color without a funky taste. It might just change your stance on red velvet cake, too!
Stella Parks in the October 2, 2011, issue of GiltTaste tells the true story of Red Velvet Cake. Velvet cakes, named for their fine-texture, go back to at least 1873. Red Velvet Cakes came about in the depression era and were “invented” by John A. Adams, the owner of Adams Extract Company. To bump up sales he added 2 bottles of red dye to a cake recipe (along with vanilla and butter flavoring) and exhibited a large photo of the cake at his displays in groceries in the Midwest and parts of the South. The cake became a sensation.
Thanks, Greg. That could very well be true! Although we are still a little hesitant to embrace any one story as gospel truth, given that it happened so long ago….
Food coloring doesn’t have any taste, or you can use beets, but that takes forever. Even if you don’t “dye” it at all, it still tastes the same with cream cheese icing. Name it “velvet cake” and call it a day.