Red Velvet Bars | vegan, gluten-free, healthy cake recipe - Elavegan (2024)

FAQs

What if I forgot vinegar in red velvet cake? ›

If you don't want to use vinegar, you can substitute an equal amount of lemon juice. If you want to skip the acidic liquid altogether, you can substitute a tablespoon of baking powder for each teaspoon of baking soda. Then add water equal to the amount of vinegar you omitted.

Using naturally sweet beet puree is a fantastic healthy alternative to food dye that adds a vibrant red color to the cake. I've tested this many times and found the secret to making it work. The bright color comes from an acidic batter.

Many years ago, the red color came from the presence of vinegar and buttermilk reacting with the anthocyanins in traditional cocoa powder. But for most of the last few decades, the red color has been supplied by Red #40 dye, in part because cocoa powder used now is alkalized to neutralize its acidity.

A chemical reaction between the cocoa and acid give the cake it's red color. Natural cocoa has a lot of acidities and works well with the baking soda and buttermilk. Along with a delicious chocolate flavor, the cocoa makes the cake nice and soft.

Cider vinegar is a mild-flavoured vinegar but lemon juice would also be fine to use as an alternative acid ingredient, as it should also not interfere with the flavour of the cakes.

If you are using vinegar for baking, you can use lemon juice in place of it in case of unavailability. Apple cider vinegar can also be utilised for the same. If you are using ¼ cup white vinegar, then substitute it with 1/3rd cup of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.

While Chocolate Cake is made primarily with cocoa powder and sometimes melted chocolate, Red Velvet Cake is made with a small amount of cocoa powder, but is also known for its signature bright red color, which is usually achieved by adding red food coloring to the batter.

To retain the proper color and taste, it is best to stick to natural cocoa powder when making red velvet cake. You could use carob powder, dutch processed cocoa powder (with strong red gel food coloring) but I do not recommend using any other substitute.

The Best Cocoa for Red Velvet Cake Is Natural Cocoa

The results are an almost melt-in-your-mouth tender cake. Natural cocoa is also lighter in color, making the red velvet cake more vibrant. Natural cocoa also has the most chocolate flavor a cocoa powder can have because it is less processed.

The red food colouring makes the cake batter prone to splitting, and turns everything it touches red; a couple of grams over on the cocoa powder and the cake goes brown instead of a rich red; the cream cheese frosting has a tendency to turn to gloop at the very last minute for no apparent reason; and the list goes on.

What gives red velvet cake its flavor? ›

Chocolate cake is flavored with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, or melted chocolate. On the other hand, though red velvet cake has cocoa powder that gives it a slightly chocolatey flavor, the buttermilk and vinegar add a tart edge making it different between the two.

Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Red Velvet Cake Mix is rich and decadent. Ready to bake in minutes, this red velvet cake can be topped with delicious frosting for a classic take, or try something new with one of Betty Crocker's many baking mix recipes.

Fun facts about Red Velvet Cake

During World War 2, bakers used boiled beet juices to enhance the colour of the cake. This was due to poverty all around the world, so it was requested not to use food colouring as it was classed as an unnecessary expense.

People prefer red velvet cake over any other cake because it is made of Mild chocolate. A study showed that when the cocoa powder and buttermilk are put together, they result in the red color of this cake. For the mild chocolate flavor, you only need to add two spoons of cocoa powder.

White Vinegar: It sounds like a strange ingredient in a cake, but it is essential in a red velvet cake. This recipe calls for baking soda to leaven the cake (make the cake rise). The small amount of added vinegar allows the soda to do its best work.

On top of having all the typical cake ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, and eggs), red velvet cake is also comprised of cocoa powder, buttermilk, and vinegar. When combined, these ingredients create the color as the cocoa powder reacts to the acids.

Although most red velvet cake recipes contain acidic ingredients such as buttermilk and cocoa, the addition of vinegar provides just a little extra acid to ensure the baking soda can do its best rising work.

Vinegar helps with the rise of our baked goods

When vinegar reacts with baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, which act as leavening agents. So as the batter bakes, these tiny bubbles expand, causing the cake to rise and giving it that light, airy texture we all love.