Reviewed: Jan. 20, 2012

I can help here. My mother got the recipie for this cake from the chef at the Astoria and paid 250 dollars for it many years ago. Then they shared the recipie out because he charged so much for it! In the original I have, there are these differences...Use 2 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 tsp salt, 2tsp cocoa, 1 tsp white vinegar and in the frosting only 3 TBS of flour....it will make a huge difference!!

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Reviewer:

kimiwatt

Reviewed: Jan. 14, 2012

This cake is THE BEST!!!!! The frosting is what is the difference between it and the others! Only make this cake when you are taking it where others will eat it, or you will find out that you CAN eat the WHOLE cake!!

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Reviewer:

Peggy Jo

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Springfield, Ohio, USA

Living In: Centerville, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 30, 2011

I have a copy of a Waldorf Astoria's recipe for Red Velvet cake and I've made it often (just last week was the lates) Do yourself a favor sub the shortening with canola oil. You'll be amazed at the difference in moistness. In a bind (if you don't have buttermilk) add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to enough milk to make one cup and let sit atleast 5 minutes. Although many Southerners would faint, switch to a cream cheese frosting. The tang of the cream cheese frosting complements this cake very well.

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Reviewer:

w8n2xhl

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Jeannette, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Madison Heights, Michigan, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 24, 2011

This recipe didn't work for me at all. I think it was more my fault than the recipe, but I'll probably keep looking for a recipe that works better for me.

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Reviewer:

Jess2355

Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2011

Wonderful recipe!!! I followed directions exactly, except I used green food coloring instead of red so I can take to our St Patrick's Party tomorrow. Also for fun I put a few drop of the green food colorin in a sandwich bag with about 1/2 cup of sugar, and used that to garnish the top. Beautiful and tasty!

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Reviewer:

NancyB

Reviewed: Feb. 16, 2011

I made this for valentines day and the cake was amazing! The only bad thing was that I made it into cupcakes, which turned out pretty bad. They tasted great but crumbled and fell apart and they were so messy when people tried to unwrap them! The icing was weird by itself but tasted perfect when paired with the cake. This recipe is best done as a cake and not cupcakes!

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Reviewer:

kbarnet6

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Akron, Ohio, USA

Living In: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2011

I could probably given this all 5 stars, except... I poured the batter evenly into two 8-inch cake pans and while baking, it completely overflowed both pans lending that oh-so-lovely acrid, burnt, smokey smell to our home on what was supposed to be a romantic Valentine's Day dinner. I searched all the previous reviews, and evidently I am the only baker to have had this experience. (Lucky me!) So now, I hope to find my original recipe file box and see what might be different. Otherwise my children have loved this cake for all occasions, and I did discover that once the butter & sugar (I always used granulated) were creamed, adding in the cooled milk/flour mixture and using the whip attachment made the frosting seem almost like fantastical whipped cream! If anyone can respond to the pan size conundrum, I would appreciate it! = )

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Reviewer:

bobs1joy

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Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Manteca, California, USA

Living In: Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 22, 2010

This cake is divine. It is not "sweet" and the frosting is the best part. I agree with everyone else that says creams cheese frosting absolutely ruins this cake. This is not an easy cake though. I make this for my son's birthday, who will be 30 this year and still to this day, sometimes it turns out wonderful and sometimes I am throwing it away and starting over. I have not ever had a problem using the tablespoon portions of cocoa and vinegar. The cake still turns out a deep rich red with just a slight hint of chocolate. It is beautiful and delicious.

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Reviewer:

VJM

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Apr. 14, 2010

Red Velvet cake is my boyfriends favorit cake, so naturally I have been striving to make the perfect one. Of the recipes I have tried, this is absolutly the best one. I don't make any changes, but I do use a differnt frosting. The cake turns out red and fluffy and delicious every time.

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Reviewer:

shananagin

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Denver, Colorado, USA

Living In: Prescott, Arizona, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 4, 2010

This is the same cake my mother made for my birthday every year! My b'day is on valentines day, so it was always heart shaped. I have had this with cream cheese, but it is NOT the same. Not even worth eating if you ask me! The frosting is the key! Very time consuming but worth EVERY minute! Enjoy

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