Ok, so I have a baby shower cake I am working on for this friday - now the girl wants a red velvet cake. I figured - ok, last minute but no big deal I can just run to the store and get get a few boxs of the Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake mix - - - - but realized that they are not carrying it anymore.

So now I have 3 box's of chocolate cake mix - Am I wrong in thinking that I can just add a bunch of red food coloring to the mix and it will be a Red Velvet Cake? I don't know if I have time to do it all from scratch - as I have to work tomorrow and am still working on the decorations. Anyone have any ideas on a semi-homemade Red Velvet Cake?

Thanks in advance,
Tina

Here is the cake mix doctor's recipe:

1 package white cake mix with pudding
1 cup buttermilk
8 Tablespoons margarine, melted
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
2 bottles (1 ounce each) red food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I would use whatever temperature your pan calls for).

Place cake mix, buttermilk, melted margarine, cocoa powder, eggs, red food coloring and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer for 1 minute on low. Scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and mix for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides if needed. The batter should look well combined. Pour into desired pans. Bake as directed by pans instructions.

I made this cake a couple of weeks ago and it was great! Very red. I used cream cheese icing on it.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

Is it really 1 bottle to 1 box cake mix? Yikes. I have 2 bottle of red food coloring, but will need to shop for things on this recipe like buttermilk and cocoa powder......I was trying to not have to go back to the store since I have already been there a million times this week.

I am making a 8 and 6 inch ( i think) tired cake, and may need to like triple that recipe....

I may have to use this one, but would anyone else happen to have any additional ideas? Sometime back I had saw a posting (which I can not locate now) on a cake community on LiveJournal - and they were talking about how you can just use chocolate cake mix and add lots of red food coloring to it and it would work..... I was really hoping to use what I already had at home.

gilson6

newbie here -- two bottles of red food coloring? Americolor, Wilton, or the cheap liquid stuff in the grocery store?

Thanks

Could you use some chocolate mix instead of all white? Would this make it easier to get red?

I heard that you should be able to use chocolate cake mix instead of white, and then add the red and that would be very similar. But I want to make sure this is possible before I try it.

The recipe specifically said 2 bottles of red food coloring. It's the kind you get in the baking aisle at the grocery store. I don't know if it would work with just chocolate cake mix. I've never made any red velvet cake but this one. The color on this one was a very vibrant, beautiful red.

FYI - that's two bottles for every cake mix.

I don't know if available in your area, but Duncan Hines has a Red Cake mix. It's a great product, prepared right it tastes like homemade. Otherwise I would go from scratch. I agree with using the chocolate mix, that's actually how most recipes from scratch are made using cocoa, and then red food color. Might want to go with gel food color not liquid (more concentrated).

S.

SharonG - my local grocery stores are not carrying either Duncna Hines or Betty Crocker RV cake mix anymore, though I don't know why. I purchased some back in Nov and January - but now when I go back there isn't even a spot of it anymore.

Thanks to everyone for your input. I had a few people from LiveJournal tell me it would be okay to use the chocolate cake mix and use red food coloring......but I haven't decided yet on whether I want to make from scratch or just do the easy way.

Thanks again

Here is a picture of how the came turned out - I actually really like it.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the cake help!

*EDIT* - okay so the image didn't show up - but you can view it in the gallery or under my photos. It's the first one.

I have always heard people say all red velvet was, was a choc cake colored red, but I couldn't disagree more... if you look at the recipe I posted on here...it's a very very little bit of choc and I cannot taste the chocolate at all.... and I have had so many compliments about it, and it's been done for a lot of weddings.... my aunt made them not me....

Wow - thanks for offering!!

I asked the manager at my local Safeway to bring the RV cake mixes back - and he was going to check with his supplier. Hopefully he will be able to get them back in the store for me.....but if you happen to be around and pick up a few box's I would be happy to Paypal (if you have it) the cash to you for the box's plus shipping. If not - no biggie.

Thanks again