Red Velvet Cake W/beets Instead Of Food Coloring?
Baking By cryssi Updated 15 May 2007 , 8:58pm by doescakestoo
I was watching the cupcake Throwdown with Bobby Flay where the challenger made red velvet cupcakes. She said that red velvet was essentially a buttermilk cake with some cocoa and red food coloring...also that it used to be made with beets. I kind of balk at all that red food coloring, so was looking for a red velvet recipe that used beets. I haven't found anything particularly exciting yet, so thought I'd ask you CCers.
tia! 
c
I saw that too!
Yep beets were used back in the day but most folks don't use it anymore. It's a shame.
Maybe Epicurious or some folks that grew up during the WWII can help. Lord knows it's possible, I found out how to make a victory cake for someone's birthday.
I have a couple from my Grandmas recipe box I inherited...I'll post:
Chocolate Red Velvet Cake
with Chocolate Icing
For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup good-quality cocoa powder
2 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons pickled beet juice or red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
For the icing:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the water and cocoa powder, and allow the mixture to cool.
3. Beat the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer, then add the vanilla, buttermilk, baking soda, and beet juice or red wine vinegar and stir well.
4. Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar into the bowl. Pour in the butter and then the egg mixture and blend thoroughly on low.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool the cakes for a few minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks, and frost and fill the center with the chocolate icing.
Chocolate Icing
1. Place the cream, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until hot and bubbly.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring slowly until smooth and silky. Add the vanilla and the salt. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your taste. Cool for about 15 minutes before frosting the cake.
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Chocolate Beet Cake
15 ounces beets, canned, whole, drained, save juice
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup juice from canned beets
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
chocolate for chocolate curls
Directions:
1. Sift together salt, baking soda, and flour. Set aside. Place beets in blender jar and puree. Add sugar, oil, and beet juice to beets and blend. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend well. Pour the beet mixture into a mixing bowl and add the dry ingredients. Mix well on medium speed for approximately one minute. Stir in melted chocolate. Pour batter into two greased and floured 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and decorate top with chocolate curls if desired.
2. To make chocolate curls: Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips or semi-sweet baking squares in the microwave. Invert a baking sheet and spread the chocolate in a thin layer over the sheet. Let set in refrigerator until chocolate is set but not hard. Take a spatula and scrape the chocolate from the pan to create a curl. The curls will be as wide as the spatula used. If the chocolate breaks let it soften at room temperature. If it is too soft, return to the refrigerator for a few more minutes. When you have the right consistency you will be able to create beautiful chocolate curls. Place a pile of curls on the cake and lightly dust with powdered sugar.
You know what (and this is going to sound bad) but ewwwwww...lol
I cant get over the fact that there are beets in there... 
Feel free to make and let me know...
Don't knock it til you try it! You like carrot cake? I love it!
Beets are a close "cousin" to carrots, right!?
Red Velvet was my grandma's favorite! But, it was the one thing she did NOT bake herself! The bakery where she bought it did tell her they used beets in the recipe, but I seem to remember that it was a highly concentrated beet juice or something like that- juice left from beets w/ skins boiled down and reduced? Just to color it red and add moisture. Gosh, I wish I had that recipe!
That reminds me, I'd better make sure I get a copy of her nut chiffon cake recipe next time I'm visiting... 
I use beets...pureed, just like carrot cake. It's quite good.
I use one that has actual beets i it, but it is kind of dense( like carrot cake) and not what most people are looking for when they say red velvet cake. This recipe is very good, and more typically american cake fluffy:
http://www.thehealers.org/food/redvelvet.html
1 3/4 cups flour, unbleached, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups beets, pureed
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Melt and cool the 2 1-oz squares of baking chocolate.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, and oil in a mixing bowl.
3. Beat with an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Beat in the beets, cooled chocolate, and vanilla.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating well after each addition.
6. Pour into greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 25 minutes or until cake tests done.
8. Cool in pan on rack.
9. Cover and let stand overnight to improve flavor.
This is the recipe I use, but it is a moister and slightly denser cake than typical red velvet. If you are feeling lazy, baby food beets work just fine.
That would make sense with the recipe comin from the south n all. You know beets and they would cook the greens n such. Greens being a staple in the south so that just makes sense to use the beets. O yeah diva ya gotta remember too that sugar is also made with beets just a different strain.
In girl scouts we used beets and onion skins to dye t-shirts n stuff. The beets made a lovely magenta and the onions a lovely golden yellow color. It was cool. (the beet juice really stains stuff too)
I looked for an answer for the red colouring of Red Velvet to explain to my clients. (It's not a very common flavour up here in Canada...and although people loved the taste, I kept getting asked "Why is it red though?" 
)
I found this on Wikipedia as an explanation of the colouring, which does mention beets:
"The use of red dye to make "Red Velvet" cake was probably started after the introduction of the darker cocoa in order to reproduce the earlier color. It is also notable that while foods were rationed during World War II, some bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. Boiled grated beets or beet baby food are still found in some red velvet cake recipes. Red velvet cakes seemed to find a home in the U.S. South and reached peak popularity in the 1950s - just before a controversy arose about health effects of common food colorings."
I really must be getting old. This sounds good. A new way to introduce veggies to kids.
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