Natural Red Velvet Cake

My rendition of the traditional red velvet with no artificial coloring, paired with rhubarb pink peppercorn compote, and vanilla bean crème fraîche frosting. An elevated classic.

Due to a request for red velvet cake, I gave myself a crash course in cake history. Documentations of red velvet cake date back to the 19th century England.

The color of this cake was traditionally a neutral reddish-brown due to a chemical reaction between the cocoa and vinegar. Because cocoa powder was such an expensive ingredient at the time of its development, very little is in the traditional recipe and red velvet cake was a high luxury.

This cake has been made for centuries, but the bright red color we typically associate with red velvet wasn’t a component until the 1900s. Due to supply rations in the United States as the hands of World War II, beetroot juice became a common substitute for food coloring to try to achieve the artificial red color that had become synonymous with the dessert. Despite the continuous progression towards a redder and redder hue, the flavor of the dessert has remained almost entirely unchanged since its conception.

When developing this cake, I wanted to try to create something as close to the original recipe as possible without the usage of food coloring. Because the color of red velvet has no bearing on the taste (a delicate crumbly sponge with a tangy soft cocoa flavor), I felt it would be a fun challenge to make this cake in its traditional mahogany hue.

I tested this recipe several times, basing it off the most traditional recipes I could find. The layers of this cake are a bit thinner than my usual, which works well due to its fine structure.

I’ve paired this cake with tart rhubarb, fruity pink peppercorn, and acidic crème fraîche frosting (cream cheese frosting’s hotter cousin) for a light, balanced, and flavorful ode to one of the most classic and beloved cakes of all time.