Traditional red velvet cake? This is it. I've made this recipe several times, and I tried to skip some steps in my first attempts. Don't skip steps. The swirls of cocoa will happen, among other things. I did add an extra heaping TBSP of cocoa powder, however, and only used one ounce of red food coloring. Because you really need two ounces to make the paste (that extra liquid is necessary), as the recipe calls for, I added a bit of extra vanilla to the paste so I could mix the cocoa properly. For those who say the cake is too dense - that is what it's supposed to be. It allows for baking a flat cake because you can really spread that cake batter evenly into the pan, which allows for slicing in half for making the traditional 4 layers. For those who say the icing is too goopey, they probably did not cook the flour/milk to a paste, or perhaps they didn't let it cool properly. Either would cause that problem. When making 4 layers, as I did, it's necessary to double the recipe for the icing. Substituting a cream cheese icing is fine for those who think that's what they prefer - but this is the authentic recipe. It's quite good. Thanks for sharing!! Oh, it really is best the next day. Try to make a day ahead. The moisture of the icing will help the cake, which can be dry at first. But upon sitting over night as an iced cake, this is really top-notch.

Reviewed On: Feb. 12, 2012

The croutons and cream of mushroom soup are brilliant additions to the breakfast casserole idea. I've made lots of breakfast casseroles with just regular bread, and just milk/cream, and the flavor and texture was not as good as this. I used Pecorino Romano insteadf of Jack cheese, and made mine in an 8X8 dish, so I cut back on the milk, sausage, and spinach to accommodate the smaller dish. I made this for a friend yesterday morning, and she's quite a foody and cook. She went back for seconds, and commented especially about the texture and flavor. Thanks for posting this, Shannon Marie. I'll use it again and again.

Reviewed On: May 24, 2009

Very good recipe. I used fresh peaches (7) instead of canned, and added some fresh nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon. Additionally, since I was using the fresh peaches, I stirred some of the white sugar, along with the cinnamon and nutmeg, into the peaches before placing them over the batter. I also used less white sugar than was called for, and it was still plenty sweet. Yum. I'll make again.

Reviewed On: Aug. 23, 2004