Red Velvet Cake History Lesson
Velvet cake is thought to originate in the Victorian Era and during that time velvet cake was considered a fancy dessert. So the term “velvet” let consumers know the dessert was a soft and velvety crumb cake. Remember Devils Food Cake?
So what’s the difference between the two cakes is devil’s food cake uses chocolate and red velvet cake uses cocoa. When foods were rationed during World War II some bakers used boiled beetroot juices to enhance the color of their cakes.
Beetroot is found in some red velvet cake recipes as a filler or to retain moisture and texture, but Adams Extract in Texas gets credit for bringing the red velvet cake to kitchens across America during the Great Depression, meaning they were the first to sell red food coloring and other flavor extracts with the use of point-of-sale posters and tear-off recipe cards. The cake and its original recipe are well known in the United States from New York City’s famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel were dubbed the confection Waldorf-Astoria cake. Although it’s considered a Southern cuisine.
