The history of the original red velvet cake may not be so Southern, after all.
No Southernchurch cookbookis complete without Ms. Pearl’s Famous Red Velvet Cake.
Or her name may be Ms. Bessie, Mrs. Banks, or even just Grandma.
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And you’d probably be wrong.
Here is the actual origin story and history of the red velvet cake.
Who Created The Red Velvet Cake?
The red velvet cake is perhaps not very old and not too Southern.
It developed a red-brown tint because of that exact chemical reaction between the cocoa and acidic ingredients.
A cousin to the mahogany cake was a deep, chocolatey cake called devil’s food cake.
It used chocolate, however, so it was a deep brown color.
WATCH: You Must Try This Red Velvet Ice-Cream Cake
So, Is Red Velvet Cake Southern?
Combined with the cocoa that was available at the time, the cake had a remarkably red shade.
In the 1930s, the Waldorf-Astoria, a famed New York City hotel, began serving red velvet cake.
They, however, credited Lady Eaton as the creator.
Cocoa was scarce, which meant the natural red hue of the cake wasn’t always possible.
Cooks were turning to beet juice orpureed beets for color.
In 1972, James Beard recounted that the cake was bland and uninteresting.
That moment was 1989’sSteel Magnolias.
The red velvet armadillo cake brought the ruby red gateau roaring back to popularity.
It took nearly a century, butred velvet has a magnificent placein the spotlight.
(It’s an excellent slice of fun food history.)
