Red velvet cake
A four-layer slice of red velvet cake | |
| Place of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Baking powder, butter, buttermilk or vinegar, cocoa powder, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla extract, and cream cheese or ermine icing |
Red velvet cake is a red-colored layer cake with cream cheese or ermine icing. The origin of the cake is unknown, although it is popular in the Southern United States and has been served as a dessert at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria hotel since the 1920s. Both the hotel and Eaton's in Canada claim to have developed the recipe.
Ingredients of the cake include baking powder, butter, buttermilk or vinegar, cocoa powder, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla extract, and in most modern recipes, red food coloring.
The cake lost popularity after Red Dye #2 was linked to cancer in the 1970s. In the late 20th century, the cake regained popularity in the United States to the point that other food products were being made to mimic the flavor and other consumer products were being made to mimic the scent.