{red velvet cake from design*sponge

I found this lovely cake recipe on Design*Sponge. I just had to repost…Yummy!

This week, Sabrina (from Hello!Lucky) gives us an entertaining “vintage” red velvet cake recipe with wonderfully styled photos to fit the vintage grandmother imagery.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe after the jump!

Waldorf Astoria $400 Red Velvet Cake

I discovered this recipe in my grandma’s recipe box when I was visiting her over Thanksgiving. It was handed down to her by her mother, and in doing a quick internet search I realized that some variation of it has been passed on mothers/daughters for generations! I can totally imagine my grandma making this in her kitchen (red food coloring and all!) in the 1950s for her four kids. It is vintage (think molded Jello!), but still very tasty!

The story behind is apparently one of the urban legends of baking – and it has been told in myriad ways, with different twists and price tags. Here’s the version I found my grandmother wrote down (with my own minor modifications to the recipe):

Waldorf Astoria $400 Red Velvet Cake

This recipe is said to have been requested of the chef at the Waldorf Astoria by a wealthy Oklahoma couple. It is said to have been mailed to them with a bill for $400.

½ cup shortening
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz red food coloring
2 Tbs cocoa
2 ¼ cup cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar

Blend shortening and sugar. Add eggs, unbeaten. Whip until smooth.

Make a paste of the food coloring and cocoa. Add to the shortening mixture.

Sift the flour, salt and backing soda. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla. Add these to the batter, alternating the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture. Fold in vinegar.

Bake in 2 1” deep, 9” wide greased and floured layer cake pans 35 – 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Cool.

Icing for Red Velvet Cake

4 scant Tbs flour
1 cup milk
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cook the flour and milk over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Cool.

Cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip in the milk and flour mixture. The frosting should be thick and fluffy, similar in consistency to whipped cream.

Spread over the layers, top, and sides of the cake.

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