I'm not a fan of red-velvet cake. Partly due to the scary amount of red food coloring and to me red-velvet cake taste good only with the cream cheese frosting which is ultimately the main feature of the cake imo.
So when I saw the Red Velvet Rose was up on schedule next, I wasn't very excited about this cake. So I decided to try making it with beetroot juice as suggested as an alternative for food coloring.
I roasted 2 small beetroots for 90mins. When I opened up the foil, there wasn't any juice on the foil. This is my first time cooking beetroot..so I wondered if the beetroot are cooked through or not. Skewer in felt it was tender through, so I peel the skin, blended in food processor and then sieved for the juice to drip. Thankfully, the juice was exactly 37g...
The batter was pretty straight forward. Creamed the butter/oil/sugar first, then the flour/buttermilk and lastly the eggwhite/beetroot juice/vanilla. (I reduced sugar by 20g).
Batter all mixed and ready
I was lazy and wanted to make a quick raspberry sauce. Actually to be honest, I didn't want to spend too much time making this cake as I didn't think I would like it. So I just used frozen raspberry puree and cooked the sauce down. I think I cooked a bit too thick and it became more jam like than sauce like.
After 45mins in the oven. Looks like Pink Velvet Cake instead of Red.
Turn over and oh..what happened to the color?! Turned blonde?
Brush the raspberry sauce...er..jam all over to make it look red. Looks scarily red to me!
Next time if I want to make Halloween Cake, I know what jam to use....!! Looks like bloody rose .. literally....I'm not swearing..
I tasted the cake in the morning and liked the raspberry sauce-jam, so I slathered all the leftover jam on the cake.
I packed this 3/4 cake for my daughter's office colleagues to share it out. They have been asking my daughter why I have not baked anything this week. LOL!
So here it is. Oh..that small tub is cream cheese frosting to go with the cake... my no-recipe cream cheese frosting...just eyeball the ingredients..lol!
Verdict: The cake tasted plain on its own.. texture tasted like pound cake. But with the cream cheese and raspberry sauce/jam.. surprisingly tasted quite good! I like the pairing of the cream cheese and raspberry jam.
My daughter just texted me from her office to say that her colleagues liked the cake. She texted "Cake is VERY nice! Esp. with Cream Cheese. Everyone liked it".
I'm glad it turned out great when I didn't expect it to.
However, I think still prefer the Red Velvet Cake in Rose's Heavenly Cake book. Iirc, HCB red velvet cake had a softer texture and paired with the cream was really very good.
Now what do I do with the 2 beetroot puree sitting in my fridge? Find another recipe for red velvet using beetroot puree? Lol!
I am exactly the same. The amount of colouring is just too much for me. But baking with healthy beetroot is another story. This looks very inviting and delicious.
ReplyDeleteLOL glad you are not swearing "Looks like bloody rose .. literally….I'm not swearing" :) Sounds lovely the "jam" with the cream cheese frosting… and I like the pink interior it's a surprise when you cut it. ---- Jeniffer
ReplyDeleteWow, the cake really would be good for Halloween, LOL! Have you seen Nigel Slater's chocolate-beet cake? You only need 250g beet puree and the cake is really good. Here's a link: Moist chocolate beet cake
ReplyDeleteI love how it was a hidden blonde! I actually like the color of your cake with the raspberry puree. Cream cheese frosting is so delicious.
ReplyDeleteYou could make a beet custard with the left over puree and pour it into a tart shell! Top it with a scoop of tarragon flavoured whipped cream. Just saying. Being my first Red Velvet Cake, I liked it, but I have nothing to compare it to. I should take your advice and visit HCB's recipe. I think your cake looks good, even if it looks a little bloody (wink). But see, I know it's raspberry, not blood. You're fun to bake with.
ReplyDeleteYou are too hard on yourself! Your cake looks lovely. I haven't tasted mine yet but I'll serve it with plenty of cream and extra raspberry glaze just like you have. It's kinda hard to cook when you don't think the end results are worth it, isn't it? Well, your cake turned out super despite your apprehension!
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks wonderful. I used the beet juice too but no trace of color at all. I agree, cream cheese frosting goes with Red Velvet cake.
ReplyDeleteI really like the looks of your hybrid cake--the raspberry jam makes it look brilliant red on the outside, and the pinkish-blonde looks pretty against the raspberry. And the cream cheese spread as a side sounds perfect. Maybe you're on to something, and the next big trend will be Pink Velvet Cake.
ReplyDeletebeet soup is really good with sour cream....i love reading your experience like you i don't like the idea of a red cake...
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