Why is the ’Red Velvet Cake’ red?

Enjoying a delicious piece of cake on a Sunday leisurely afternoon, cutting a birthday cake, or coping up with some emotional rollercoasters with a magnificent pastry on a Friday night – the list of reasons for eating a beautiful pastry is endless. Moreover, the number of flavors offered by the baker goes on and on. One such flavor – Red velvet has become to be the beloved flavor for many including you and me. The red color of this beautiful color draws us to it on a shelf full of pastries. A knife cutting down the soft cushiony red slice makes our mouth water.

However, a very big question for us all food enthusiasts is that why is the Red Velvet cake red? Although for obvious reasons it may seem that it might have been provided by artificial colors added, that reason is only partially true. One might wonder whether there is any sweet chocolate hiding beneath that red velvet cake. Let’s dwell on the science behind the making of red velvet cake.

Most of us can associate the red color of various foods such as berries, grapes, currants, and more with anthocyanins. These pigments are responsible for providing a range of colors from red, blue, purple to black depending mainly on the pH of the product. As research states, in the presence of acidic pH, these pigments turn to the shade of a rich brick red color.

Photo by : www.scienceinschool.org

The red velvet cake that we currently know of originated in the Victorian era. It wasn’t that much of red velvet, but just a ‘velvet cake’, the name pointing to the soft texture of the cake for obvious reasons. This soft texture was achieved by a variety of ingredients such as almond flour, cornstarch, and cocoa powder to name a few. The velvet cake gained great popularity at that point of the time since it used cocoa powder instead of chocolate bars which cut down hugely on the cost factor. With further advancement of this conventional velvet cake to other southern states, more and more ingredient refinement was done.

One exceptional such ingredient change bought us to the present day red velvet cake – buttermilk. As mentioned earlier, the anthocyanin in an acidic pH provides a good red color. This acidic pH was from the buttermilk (or vinegar, in some cases). This pH made the anthocyanins in cocoa powder give a brownish hue. Some artificial colors along with it provide the rich red color in the cake. Also, another interesting fact is the type of cocoa powder being used. The recipe calls for raw cocoa powder, but the cocoa powder generally available at grocery stores is alkalized or dutch-processed. These processes reduce the acidity of the mix, so the desired color is not achieved. So probably look for raw cocoa powder on the shelves. This is the chemistry behind the authentic red velvet cake. Imitation cakes may use just basic red color/dyes for the red hue.

To sum up, a red velvet cake should comprise an acidic ingredient, a tad bit of cocoa, and some white frosting to cover up the beauty because a red velvet cake isn’t the same without that cream cheese frosting on the top layer. As long as these are present, you are good to go! Also, cakes are not the only foods with reddish-tint. This science can be applied to make those pancakes, cookies, and some amazing other desserts.

References

1. Red velvet cake gets its color from more than just dye — there’s (chocolate!) science involved, Kate Williams, www.thesouthernkitchen.com

2. Why Exactly Is Red Velvet Cake Red? www.eatthis.com

3. The science of red velvet, www.foodcrumbles.com