Cake Man Raven's Red Velvet Cake With Cake Mix Added In

Baking By vmanbakes Updated 25 Dec 2013 , 7:38pm by Cakepro

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vmanbakes Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 2:37pm
post #1 of 20

Hello everyone I just joined the group today but I have reading posts on this site since last week. I am planning on making a red velvet cake on Christmas eve and I was going to use cake man raven's recipe. Last night I got the idea about adding a box of cake mix to the recipe , if I do so I would probably cut down on the flour and use 4 to 5 eggs. I was wondering if anyone thought that this might not work or that the cake might not come out right. Since it is Christmas eve I won't have time to go shop again for ingredients if the cake doesn't come out right. What can I do to ensure that the cake will come out right with the cake mix added in. The reason I wanted to add the cake mix is because I have a box of Duncan Hines French vanilla  cake mix that I need to use anyway  and I have been reading a lot of doctored cake mix recipes on this website. ANy ideas or suggestions will be appreciated.

19 replies
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ddaigle Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 2:44pm
post #2 of 20

Welcome to CC!!!   If you type "Red Velvet WASC" in the search bar...you will see many threads on different recipes using box to make a RV.   Not sure if anyone uses French Vanilla though.   Seems like most use white or the box RV.   Good luck.

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-K8memphis Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 3:01pm
post #3 of 20

i'm not familiar with cake man raven's recipe--but assuming it's a good one and you wanna incorporate a cake mix into that--i'd just combine both as they are written and i'd add a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder--i'd probably use buttermilk instead of water in the cake mix too--

 

after it was all mixed-- if it seemed red enough--i'd bake off one cupcake to make sure the red stays the color i wanted throughout the baking process--

 

but if not just add some more red food color to get it where you want it--

 

also you can bake the cake in advance and hold it in the freezer well wrapped--ice it later--cuts down on the anxiety--

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ddaigle Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 3:20pm
post #4 of 20

I made caveman's one time....ack....to me it reminded me of oily cornbread.   But I am not a RV fan anyway.   I always said if you put a piece of RV cake on a plate with NO cream cheese icing..blind folded taste testers....they would not be able to  identify the cake flavor.  The cream cheese icing MAKES a red velvet cake.....My southern opinion.

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-K8memphis Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 3:35pm
post #5 of 20

i hear yah, sarge--i'm a yankee been living in the south for decades but i don't see a need for rv either--my yankee/southern opinion--

 

i mean not when you could do an italian cream cake that has such depth or even a pretty white or yellow cake--

 

my son was allergic to red food coloring so i am biased that way too--

 

what i do love is a red devil's food cake -- where there's no red color added at all and it's the chemical reaction between the ingredients that presents you with a reddish color full bodied chocolate cake that is to die for flavorful all by itself then add some icing -- over the top!

 

'course red velvet is a very light choco so --anyhow --and pretty for christmas -- and i love to pair it with strawberry cake so you have a red then a pink layer--did that for my red headed little girl (who is 34 now ha!)

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ddaigle Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 3:43pm
post #6 of 20

K8....I love italian cream...or as you said..anything with "depth".   That red devil's food sounds interesting.

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-K8memphis Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 3:52pm
post #7 of 20

my mom made this for my birthday from her 1951 bc cb -- and she made me angel food cake too --

 

"devil or angel -- i can't make u-up my mi-ind" (old song)  hahaha

 

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/red-devils-food-cake/867adb8c-54a3-4f56-88f4-c6e464426412

 

obviously it's a soft red glow in the crumb--reddish--

 

i've always wondered if this is how red velvet started--where someone goofed on the red devil's food and re-named it and started a sensation-- 

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Apti Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 5:32pm
post #8 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by -K8memphis 
 

i'm not familiar with cake man raven's recipe--but assuming it's a good one and you wanna incorporate a cake mix into that--i'd just combine both as they are written and i'd add a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder--i'd probably use buttermilk instead of water in the cake mix too--

 

after it was all mixed-- if it seemed red enough--i'd bake off one cupcake to make sure the red stays the color i wanted throughout the baking process--

 

but if not just add some more red food color to get it where you want it--

 

also you can bake the cake in advance and hold it in the freezer well wrapped--ice it later--cuts down on the anxiety--

Excellent advice.

 

I ALWAYS mess up if I try new recipe at the last moment.  I've learned the hard way to bake, freeze, decorate.  Make your cake(s) today.  Make a few cupcakes for "testing".  Freeze.  Try a frozen & defrosted cupcake next day.

If you haven't frozen cakes before:

Wrap cooled (some wrap while still warm to add moisture--I wrap cooled) cake in plastic wrap.  I place a cardboard circle under each cake layer, so it is easier to handle when moving around.  Wrap in another layer of aluminum foil.

 

 

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SISA Posted 20 Dec 2013 , 6:42pm
post #9 of 20

I am not familiar with the recipe you are talking about but, I usually use the Red Velvet Redux Recipe from CC http://cakecentral.com/a/red-velvet-redux-easy-durable.  Just like the recipe says be careful not to over mix. 

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vmanbakes Posted 24 Dec 2013 , 8:29pm
post #10 of 20

Well the cake is in the oven. I made three 9" layers

Here is Cake Man Ravens recipe with the changes I made in parenthis

 

~~Ingredients Vegetable oil for the pans

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I only used  2 cups of flour and I added a 16.5 oz box of Duncan hines French vanilla cake mix)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine salt ( I didn't add any salt)

1 teaspoon cocoa powder (I used three teaspoons)

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature ( I used 1 1/2 cup of regular milk plus 5  tablespoons of cultured buttermilk blend)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

\2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)

teaspoon white distilled vinegar ( I did not use any vinegar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I may post pictures when cake is done.

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vmanbakes Posted 24 Dec 2013 , 9:05pm
post #11 of 20

I took the cake out of the oven a few minutes ago. I prefer my red velvet cake to be bright red and so I am not happy with the color of this cake as it is too dark for me but it came out great and if I decide to make it this way again I will only use   one teaspoon of cocoa .Attached is picture of the layers after I took them out of the oven,  As you can see for some reason one of the layer caved in in the middle but I don't know why that happened, 

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-K8memphis Posted 24 Dec 2013 , 9:44pm
post #12 of 20

handle it real careful -- the recipe seems a bit low on eggs so be gentle with it -- red velvet is kinda crumbly anyhow -- so de-pan those carefully --fingers crossed for you--

 

it looks as if they all fell a bit--no worries--but the one that fell the most looks like it had the most batter in it so-- perhaps a tad underbaked than the others?

 

1 tablespoon (= 3 teaspoons) of cocoa powder to over 4 cups of white powder is a negligible amount--interesting that it turned so dark for you-- it will surely be lighter red when it's cut open? it might only look that dark on the outside--

 

next time i encourage you to add the salt and the vinegar and more eggs -- enough for the cake mix and the recipe combined --5?

 

but tell me why did you decrease the eggs and increase the milk?

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vmanbakes Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 2:52pm
post #13 of 20

 I was not trying to decrease the eggs, the recipe calls for 2 and the cake mix calls for 3 but I thought 5 eggs might be to much.  I added the extra milk because I thought the batter would be to thick since I added in the cake mix but it was still very loose, so if I do it a gain I would probably use less milk and less oil. Attached is a picture of t he cake after I tried a slice.

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-K8memphis Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 3:01pm
post #14 of 20

oooh it looks good--but if you wanted it redder more food color huh -- that's why i suggested making a cupcake first to test the color--

 

5 eggs is not too much if your combined recipes call for that--i mean one half the combination (recipe/cake mix) had no vinegar and no eggs to poof and hold things together--when you combine recipes and cake mixes you would simply add up all the ingredients for best results --

 

whether a vinegar/soda based recipe will perform with a baking powder cake mix is an ultimate question but looks like you did pretty good with what you made!

 

don't think so much next time--:lol:  (i'm an infamous over thinker)

 

congratulations--drop me over a slice-- looks delicious

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Cakepro Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 5:33pm
post #15 of 20

I make Cake Man Raven's RV recipe frequently.  Adding a cake mix to it was a baaaaaaaaad idea.   I am not a fan of RV in general but I do like his recipe, and my clients love it.  It is far superior to any doctored RV recipes that I've ever tried.  The only alteration I make is to double the cocoa powder.  It still produces a very bright red cake.

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vmanbakes Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 5:40pm
post #16 of 20

The reason I decided to add the cake mix is so the layers would be thicker. I made the recipe before  in three layers and the layers were on the thin side so I wanted to add something to it just to make the layers thicker.

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Cakepro Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 5:44pm
post #17 of 20

His original recipe produces WAY less batter than is needed for a 9" cake.  I double the recipe for an 8" round cake and bake in two 2" deep cake pans.  For 9" round cakes, I make a 2.5x batch.

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icer101 Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 6:30pm
post #18 of 20

I have also made Cake Man Ravens rv cake. I really like it. Bobby Flay beat him in the challenge thought. Want to make Bobbys , but haven,t as of yet. I would never mess with the recipe of either one.

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brenda549 Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 7:16pm
post #19 of 20

Omitting the vinegar and changing the amount of buttermilk are what caused the red color to be more brown.  It is the acidic reaction between those and the cocoa that help give a more pronounced red color.  

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Cakepro Posted 25 Dec 2013 , 7:38pm
post #20 of 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by icer101 
 

I have also made Cake Man Ravens rv cake. I really like it. Bobby Flay beat him in the challenge thought. Want to make Bobbys , but haven,t as of yet. I would never mess with the recipe of either one.

 

I really want to try Flay's recipe too but I never make time to do a test run of it.  I only upped the cocoa because CM Raven's recipe is crazy oily.  But boy, do RV lovers love it.
 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by brenda549 
 

Omitting the vinegar and changing the amount of buttermilk are what caused the red color to be more brown.  It is the acidic reaction between those and the cocoa that help give a more pronounced red color.  

 

As well as adding a French Vanilla cake mix.  Cake mixes do weird things.

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