red velvet cake — United States

Red velvet cake is a layer cake with a red to deep red crumb, most often filled and covered with cream cheese frosting, though an ermine buttercream made by cooking flour into milk is also used. It is reported from the United States, where it dates back to the nineteenth century, and it is closely tied to Christmas and Valentine's Day tables, with a strong association with cooking from the American South. To prepare it, a batter is made from buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa and vinegar, the acid reacting with the cocoa to soften its flavour and darken its tone. Red food colouring is stirred in to give the deep, even red that defines the cake, though some kitchens use beetroot instead. The batter is divided between pans and baked into layers, which are cooled fully before being stacked with cream cheese frosting between each layer and spread over the top and sides. What changes between bakers is mainly the source of the red colour, food colouring, beetroot, or none beyond what the cocoa itself gives; the frosting, cream cheese against ermine buttercream; and the number of layers used. This version colours the batter with food colouring, frosts it with cream cheese, and builds it in three layers.