Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2009

Great recipe! Big hit for Christmas. Boy is it red!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

*Sarah*

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Franklin, Massachusetts, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2009

I made this cake for my boyfriend's birthday a few days ago, and the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I had to make some revisions. Like many other people I upped the sugar to 2 cups and substituted 1 c. oil for the shortening (I hate using shortening unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary.) I did use more cocoa than most - a total of 5 tbsp and only one oz. of the red food coloring. It turned out to be a gorgeous, rich red color and it tasted amazing! There was more than enough batter and I ended up putting it in 3 9 in. round pans. Very rich and moist and my boyfriend LOVED it. I will definately make this again!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

BakingNerd

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Harker Heights, Texas, USA

Living In: Olive Branch, Mississippi, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2009

I made this cake three times, and am basing my review on the first prep, when I followed the recipe exactly. It was all right, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. I wanted more of a pronounced cocoa taste and it was a little dry. The second time I made it, I substituted 3/4 cup canola oil for the shortening, decreased the red food coloring to one ounce, and increased the cocoa to 4 Tablespoons. Remembering what another reader posted about streaky chocolate, I mixed the cocoa with the dry ingredients and mixed the red food coloring with the buttermilk. It was much simpler this way, and was exactly what I wanted. The frosting listed above might be traditional in most of the US, but for better or worse, in my part of the US, red velvet cake is served with cream cheese frosting, so that's what I made the second and third times. The "traditional" cooked frosting turned out just fine, and I liked it, but the woman who requested red velvet cake wanted cream cheese, so cream cheese she got.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

berelinde

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2009

I made this as cup cakes following all the changes recommended by other users and they turned out really good.. very light and well flavoured. My frosting however wasnt good.. the flour kind of lumped up and I didnt know to smoothen it.. Also I read that you had to really beat the frosting to death but after a while it started getting grainy and not smooth..

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Gauri

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 19, 2009

This recipe is great. I had this same recipe, passed down to me. I lost it, but knew the ingredients, just couldn't remember how much of what. Even the frosting, as weird as it sounds. This is the same recipe that has been in the family forrrrevver and I am so glad I found it. Love it

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Beth

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 1, 2009

I made this cake for my sons birthday at his request and he loved it. It was a hit. Better than past attempts though I was hoping for a moister, denser cake it was light and tasty and the icing was very flavorful.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

kathyd

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2009

Followed the mods made by other reviewers, and the cake was still pretty dry! Used a cream cheese frosting and YUCK. First time ive ever tried cream frosting and it will be my last! But i tried it the next day after it had chilled in the fridge and it was a bit better. Still, it wasnt my cup of tea..

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Gema

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 26, 2009

use 1 cup veg oil instead of shortening, and 2 cups sugar. also it should be on TBSP not one TSP vinegar. when you make the red and cocoa paste, use 1 oz coloring and add 1 tbsp buttermilk to keep the cake from marbling. beat the frosting to death and itll be perfect.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

blugrassgurrl

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Willimantic, Connecticut, USA

Living In: Groton, Connecticut, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2009

First off, WHOAH, we had more than enough food coloring! My fingernails are still a little red... That aside, I really liked this recipe. The paste part was a little difficult, but it was otherwise pretty simple. The frosting was to DIE for (and even though I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, I STILL felt bad!). Everyone else has said it's very good too, and though I'm not a big chocolate fan, I gotta agree. Dunno if it was just me or not, but my cake fell apart a little bit, which was sad. I added some sliced strawberry inbetween layers and on top. Overall pretty tasty, I gotta say.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Olua

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2009

After reading the reviews for this cake, i used my fantastic cake recipe instead of trying to make all the revisions. But due to the lack of cream cheese, i made the "traditional" frosting. I followed the recipe for the frosting to the letter. You do use granulated sugar, but you have to follow directions and beat until the mixture is creamy. It does take several minutes of beating the tisugar and butter for it to lose its grainy texture, so be patient. the milk and flour part of the recipe was, pardon the pun, a piece of cake, again be patient. if you follow the directions, trust me, it will come out fine. And although it was quite good, my family prefers a cream cheese frosting. like my husband said, with this frosting you want to eat it on the cake; with cream cheese frosting you want to eat the frosting first! hope thise helps someone!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Lil Darlin

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Pensacola, Florida, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2009

Best red velvet cake ever especially with my mom's cream cheese frosting!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

selina

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Farmington, New Mexico, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2009

I have been making this exact cake for many many years. The frosting on this cake has to be beaten until it is like whipped cream. That is the secret. Otherwise it will come out looking curdled and gritty. This is a WONDERFUL cake if made exactly as the instructions state without any modifications. It never hurts to follow a recipe without changing it.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kandy

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 13, 2009

I am an experienced baker, but this did not work out for me. I used the recommended alterations, but it stuck to the pan, and fell. Also the cooking time was more like 55 minutes. I do have a thermometer set up in the oven, so I know I had the temp right, and I also had a high quality pan, and had it greased well. The part in the middle tasted pretty good, though, but you can't just serve it like that!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SarahWilson

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 25, 2009

I added the extra 1/2 cup sugar and the extra tablespoon of cocoa as suggested. This cake was good, but a little dry. I think I might have overbaked it by a few minutes.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Annie K

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2009

can someone tell me how to make the 'paste'? 'mix cocoa and food coloring to a paste'. how is that done, b/c each time i make this it is still in the liquid form. and when the cake is done there is 'brown stuff' also and it doesn't rise, can someone ...

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Chefjuststartinout45

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Brooklyn, New York, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 10, 2009

I took the recommendations of a few reviews, I used 2 c. sugar, added a tablespoon of cocoa, and used veg. oil instead of shortening. It was not to our liking!!! I didn't even bother frosting it.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

LISAANDRYANA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2009

I followed this recipe exactly and the result was the worst cake I had ever made. I thought it would be much better after reading all the positive reviews. Sorry.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

wickedwottons

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 28, 2008

I only used the icing recipe. It turned out horrible. I think (but am not sure) that the "white sugar" is suppose to be powdered sugar. I used white sugar and it was a runny mess. Does anyone know if the recipe is wrong???

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Lucie

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Lubbock, Texas, USA

Living In: Irving, Texas, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 28, 2008

Fantastic! I grew up with this recipe, but always hesitated to make it due to endless amounts of folding. This recipe was much easier since I used a mixer and only had to fold the last step. When cooking the flour and milk, I like a thicker frosting, so cook until it's almost a paste and then place in the fridge to cool. Tastes great days later if stored in the fridge. Mom and Nana were thrilled to see someone improve on the family cake.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

m0mpaige

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2008

My first time to make a Red Velvet Cake was for Christmas. I took the suggestions of other reviews and used 4 Tbl. cocoa, 1 oz. food coloring was plenty, two cups of sugar, and used 1 c. of oil instead of shortening. It was a hit with everyone from my two year old grandson to my husband. One of my daughters loves Red Velvet Cake so leftovers went home to her. Six year old grandson who is not big on sweets ate all his piece (he said it was his favortite color. I used cream cheese frosting because that was what daughter #3 wanted.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful