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Dessert

Red Velvet Cake with History

A moist, red cake made with cake flour, buttermilk, baking soda, vinegar, and oil, topped with cream cheese frosting.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cocoa and vanilla work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 357 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Red Velvet Cake with History

Oven350°F
Time20–25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. In a large bowl combine cake flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt.

  2. In another bowl beat sugar and oil until blended.

  3. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.

  4. Blend in food color, vanilla, and vinegar.

  5. Scrape the bowl down with a spatula.

  6. Alternately fold in the flour mixture and buttermilk, using about one-third of each at a time and scraping down at least twice; do not beat on high.

Bake and cool

  1. Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

  2. Cool on racks for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

Make the frosting

  1. Beat cream cheese until softened and smooth.

  2. Add butter and continue beating until softened.

  3. Beat in powdered sugar a little at a time, then vanilla.

  4. If the frosting is too thick, blend in cold milk a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1221Calories
30 gProtein
58 gFat
139 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cocoa + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together357 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cake flour
Provides the structure that holds the tender crumb once baked.
Buttermilk
Adds moisture and acidity, tenderizing the crumb and reacting with baking soda.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and vinegar to produce gas that lifts the cake.
Oil
Keeps the cake moist and tender because it stays liquid at room temperature.
Cream cheese
Gives the frosting its tangy flavor and creamy, spreadable body.

The step that matters

Folding in the flour and buttermilk. Overmixing after the flour is added develops gluten, making the cake tough. Alternating small portions and folding gently keeps the crumb tender.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, vinegar, buttermilk, cream cheese):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Hazelnutfits better
  3. Walnutfits better
  4. Cocoathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, vinegar, buttermilk, cream cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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