Red Velvet Cake was never meant to be Red

Red Velvet Cake wasn’t meant to be red.

By Gladys W. MuturiPublished about a month ago • 3 min read

Red Velvet Cake was never meant to be Red

Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

Red Velvet Cake is a moist sweetest red-dish dessert that has ever been tasted. However, Red velvet cake wasn’t meant to be the color red. Red velvet cake is not red due to insufficient or poor-quality food coloring, using the wrong type of cocoa powder, or incorrect oven temperature and acidity balance. The cocoa can overpower the color, so using a high-quality red food coloring, natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa, and an acidic liquid like buttermilk is crucial, as is baking at the correct temperature. In the 19th century and into the early 20th, bakers described certain cakes as “velvet” simply because their crumb was more delicate than traditional cakes. These cakes often used cocoa powder (or almond flour or cornstarch) instead of rich chocolate bars or heavy flourIn its original form, red velvet’s reddish hue was subtle, a warm, slightly reddish-brown the result of natural cocoa + acidic ingredients + baking chemistry. That version of red velvet was defined as much by its texture (“velvet” crumb) and mild cocoa flavor as by its color. When some of these early “velvet cocoa” or “mahogany” cakes used cocoa powder plus acidic ingredients (like buttermilk or vinegar), bakers noticed the result — a cake with a faint reddish or mahogany-tinged hue. Over time, as recipes evolved and merged with darker cakes (like devil’s food), what we now call red velvet emerged.

The key to red velvet’s color lies in natural (non-Dutched) cocoa powder. This type of cocoa retains natural pigments — notably a group of antioxidants called anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are the same kinds of pigments responsible for red or purple color in berries, red cabbage, grapes, and many other plants. These pigments are pH-sensitive — meaning their color changes depending on the acidity (or alkalinity) of their environment. In a neutral environment, anthocyanins might render a dark chocolate-like hue; but when exposed to an acid, their color shifts toward red or reddish-purple. In red velvet recipes, typical acidic ingredients are buttermilk and/or vinegar (often alongside a leavening agent such as baking soda). When natural cocoa, buttermilk (or vinegar), and baking soda (or another leavener) are combined, the acidity triggers a shift in the anthocyanins, turning the cake batter — and ultimately the baked cake — a reddish-mahogany hue. The result is subtle but distinctive: not flashy red, but a warm, deep, rusty red-brown, almost like mahogany. At the same time, the acid helps tenderize the cake — breaking down some of the flour proteins and contributing to the “velvety” smooth texture that characterizes these cakes. So early red/velvet cakes weren’t “red” because someone painted them — the redness (or brown-red) was a natural by-product of ingredient chemistry. But people had come to love the idea of a “red velvet cake.” Enter the mid-20th century: a kitchen-supplies and flavoring company, Adams Extract Company (based in Texas), started marketing bottled red food coloring — and using red velvet cake as their showcase recipe. By distributing recipe cards and posters featuring bright red velvet cake, they helped popularize the vivid red version across America.

Today, many red velvet cakes are bright red from cakes, cookies, brownies, and other variety desserts. Chocolate and red velvet cakes are not the same thing. And red velvet cake is not simply just a chocolate cake with red food dye in it. These two cakes may have a long history of being mistaken for one another because they share a similar reddish-brown color, but the flavor, ingredients, and texture are fundamentally different from one another.