Icing on the cake

This article is about the dessert. For the Android icing on the cake system version, see Android 11. Red velvet cake is traditionally a red, red-brown, crimson, or scarlet-colored layer cake, layered with ermine icing.

Common ingredients include buttermilk, butter, cocoa, vinegar, and flour. Beet juice or red food coloring may be used for the color. Velvet cake is thought to have originated in Maryland in the early 20th century. In the 19th century, “velvet” cake, a soft and velvety crumb cake, came to be served as a fancy dessert, in contrast to what had been the more common, coarser-crumbed cake. When foods were rationed in the US during World War II, bakers used boiled beet juices to enhance the color of their cakes.

Beet was and is used in some recipes as a filler or to retain moisture. In Canada, the cake was a well-known dessert in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton’s department store chain in the 1940s and 1950s. Promoted as an exclusive Eaton’s recipe, with employees who knew the recipe sworn to silence, many mistakenly believed the cake was the invention of the department store matriarch, Lady Eaton. In recent years, red velvet cake and red velvet cupcakes have become increasingly popular in the US and many European countries, especially around Christmas and more recently Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients vary based on the era and area of the world. In addition to the many variations of red velvet cake, there are various red velvet-flavored products, including protein powder, tea, lattes, Pop-Tarts, waffles, and alcoholic beverages. The rediscovery of red velvet has gone way too far”. The evolution of red velvet cake, an iconic American dessert”. Red Velvet, the ‘Lady Gaga’ of cakes, wears well during the holidays”.