Baking a red velvet cake...?

Question

My mother is trying to make my wedding cake for me. She is taking a standard cake recipe and trying to make an 8", 10" and 12" cake for the wedding. Last night she made the 12" and, while the cake tasted no different, the consistency was different. It was denser and darker. Also, she said she experienced the following: she tried to cook it under the same temperature as her standard 8" or 9" and when checking on it saw that it had risen greatly and pulled away from the sides....later it flattened but with a hole in the center....after that it cracked severely. Can anyone give me any help on how to cook a red velvet wedding cake?

Answer 1

Basically, bigger pans with dense cake like red velvet need to bake a little longer, at a slightly lower temperature. You could also invest in some of the Wilton Bake-Even strips, which are available in most cake decorating supply locations (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.)

As a side note, you'll want to be careful when you're icing the red velvet cake, because it can (and usually will) bleed after a few hours into the icing. Nothing like having a bleeding wedding cake on the table! Make sure you crumbcoat first, and then try using a basketweave or other pretty piping technique on the side of the cake to avoid having bleed-through.

Hope it turns out well!

Answer 2

Her oven may have been too hot or maybe not hot enough. Or if she used dark pans, a cake will bake differently.

Here's a good recipe.

Red Velvet Cake
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 c oil
1 c buttermilk
2 oz (1/4 cup) red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing, below
PREPARATION:
Place all dry ingredients in bowl; stir to blend. In another bowl, blend eggs with fork. Add oil and blend again. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix with wire whip until smooth. Add and blend buttermilk, food coloring, and vanilla into the batter.

Pour equally into three greased and floured 8-inch cake pans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool ten minutes and remove from pans.

Icing

1/2 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 lb box of powdered sugar
dash of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped nuts
Mix icing ingredients together until light and fluffy. Frost and fill cake.

This is a good frosting but I'm not sure you'd want to use a heavy cream cheese frosting for a wedding cake...it's up to you.

Answer 3

It was denser and darker because it had fallen (compacted). This frequently does not occur until it is removed from the oven. There's a good chance it was jostled or moved in some way before it was completely baked through. Because of the large diameter, it will be more sensitive to movement for a longer period of time. Movement can be anything from merely walking heavily in the kitchen to slamming the oven door.
You're correct, rising too high in the center too quickly may be caused by too high of a baking temperature. The outside edges will cook before the center is done.
Try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and adjust the time accordingly.
Hope you have success and a wonderful wedding.

Answer 4

I am all for the red-velvet, it's a unique cake compared to the banana rum cake. Plus no rum for school - unless it's a university. Since it's so close to Halloween you could sell it as Vampire Blood Cake with Bone Frosting. Last year I made red-velvet cupcakes for my daughter's bake sale, and told the kids that I cut my finger while I making the cupcakes, but I decided to let the the blood just flow into the batter, and "oh yeah, watch out for my finger nail".

Answer 5

Red Velvet Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 oz red food coloring
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoons vinegar

PREPARATION:

Cream shortening; beat in sugar gradually. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Make paste of cocoa and food coloring; add to creamed mixture. Add salt, flour and vanilla alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Sprinkle soda over vinegar; pour vinegar over batter.
Stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake in 3 8-inch pans or 2 9-inch pans for 30 minutes at 350°.