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Red velvet cake, the “chocolate cake of the South,” had always been a mystery to me. I’d heard people talk about it, but I had never actually had it. I always assumed it was a cake that didn’t taste as good as a typical chocolate or vanilla cake, because the red color was quite unusual and the name “velvet” in a dish made me feel apprehensive – velvet fabric is not a texture I’d enjoy in eating food!

When I discovered that red velvet cake was actually chocolate cake with red food coloring, I had to try baking it. I found a recipe online courtesy of Buddy Valastro, the guy from TLC’s show Cake Boss, and a cream cheese frosting recipe from an old cookbook I found in the kitchen. Two hours later, I had a delicious red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting waiting to be eaten. Yum!

The only thing I would have done differently when making the cake is ensure that the layer of icing between the two cake layers was thicker for the benefit of presentation. I had more than enough icing I could have added, but I wanted only a thin layer in the middle as there would be lots of icing on the top and sides of the cake as well, and I’m not a huge fan of icing. I’d rather enjoy the cake rather than have my palate overpowered by the icing, but when looking at the individual cake slices it’s hard to tell the cake is layered at all!