{"id":163161,"title":"Authentic American Red Velvet Cake","modified":"2026-08-17T19:35:46+02:00","plain":"A tender layer cake made with cocoa and buttermilk, tinted red and finished with a lightly sweet ermine frosting.\n\n\n\nThe color catches the eye first: a deep, almost velvety red that slices beautifully. The crumb is fine and tender, with just a hint of cocoa and a gentle tang from the buttermilk.\n\n\n\nLight and fluffy, the ermine frosting brings everything together without ever feeling too sweet. It’s a cake that impresses as much with its texture as with its looks.\n\n\n\nAnother cake that slices beautifully : New York cheesecake\n\n\n\nWhat is red velvet?\n\n\n\nRed velvet is a tender layer cake made with cocoa and buttermilk, colored red and topped with ermine frosting. This old-fashioned cooked frosting, made with flour and milk and then whipped with butter and sugar, turns smooth and airy, with less sweetness than cream cheese frosting. With only two tablespoons of cocoa, the flavor stays subtle, far from fully chocolatey desserts like classic American brownies.\n\n\n\nIts color comes from natural cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar, boosted with red gel food coloring. The buttermilk and vinegar also provide the acidity that reacts with the baking soda and gives the crumb its lift.\n\n\n\nLayering the cake and making ermine frosting\n\n\n\nThis version stays true to the classic style : two tender layers, a striking color, and a frosting that stands out against the crumb. Cake flour, with its lower protein content, creates a fine, delicate texture.\n\n\n\nThe traditional frosting is ermine, not cream cheese frosting like you’d find on an American carrot cake. Milk and flour are cooked together, cooled, then beaten into whipped butter, sugar, and vanilla. The result : a smooth, airy frosting with moderate sweetness.\n\n\n\nThe key ingredients in red velvet\n\n\n\nThe cake combines cake flour for a tender crumb, a little unsweetened natural cocoa, butter and sugar creamed for volume, and eggs for structure. Buttermilk adds moisture and acidity, vanilla rounds out the flavor, and baking soda with vinegar ensures a good rise. Red gel food coloring gives the cake its signature shade.\n\n\n\nFor a brighter, tangier dessert : Key lime pie\n\n\n\nErmine frosting starts with a base of milk and flour cooked until thick, then whipped with butter, sugar, and vanilla. The cooked base gives it structure, while the whipping makes it light.\n\n\n\nTexture, color, and flavor\n\n\n\nThe cake should slice cleanly while staying exceptionally tender. Creamed butter and sugar create volume, while baking soda activated by the acidity helps the layers rise. You’ll find that same focus on a soft, tender crumb in other American classics like classic American cookies or American cinnamon rolls.\n\n\n\nIn each bite, the cocoa stays delicate, the vanilla softens the edges, the buttermilk brings a clean tang, and the ermine frosting remains less sweet than a cream cheese version. Chill the cake before serving, then let it sit for a few minutes at room temperature before slicing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tAuthentic American Red Velvet Cake\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tRed Velvet Cake270 g cake flour1 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder115 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)300 g sugar2 eggs (at room temperature)20 g red gel food coloring240 ml buttermilk (at room temperature)1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon vinegarErmine Frosting5 tablespoons all-purpose flour240 ml milk200 g sugar225 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)1 teaspoon vanilla extract\t\n\t\n\t\tRed Velvet CakePreheat the oven to 180\u00b0C. Grease two 23 cm cake pans and line the bottoms with greased parchment paper.Sift together the cake flour, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder.Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until pale and fluffy.Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.In a separate bowl, whisk the red food coloring into the buttermilk.With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.Add the vanilla and mix just until no streaks of flour remain.Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar, then quickly fold it into the batter as soon as it foams.Divide the batter evenly between the pans, then bake for 24 to 30 minutes, until the cakes pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Let the cakes cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Unmold, remove the parchment, and let cool completely before frosting.Ermine FrostingIn a saucepan, whisk together the all-purpose flour and milk.Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, until very thick, like pastry cream.Remove from the heat, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 1 hour.Cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy.Add the cooled flour mixture and beat for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy, like whipped cream.Fill, frost, and decorate the cake.\t\n\t\n\t\tErmine frosting\u2014made by cooking flour and milk\u2014is the traditional frosting for red velvet cake. It's lighter and less sweet than cream cheese frosting. Natural cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar give the cake its signature color and a subtly tangy flavor. For the best texture and cleanest slices, chill the cake for at least 2 hours, then let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tDessertAm\u00e9ricaine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}