Trying Out Cake Man Raven Red Velvet Cake

Two layers of cake coated in cream cheese frosting and topped with red velvet crumbs

The origins of red velvet cake is unknown as there are three versions of where the recipe came from; 1. It is a Southern USA recipe, 2. It is created in the kitchen of Waldorf Astoria 3. It is from the bakery of the Eaton’s department store in Canada. What we can be certain of is that  red velvet came from America.   


I haven't heard of Cake Man Raven before until recently from the internet. It seems like everybody is raving about his red velvet cake. I am out of date as the hype was back in 2009 when the only red velvet I ate is from Hummingbird, London. Since so many approved Cake Man Raven's red velvet cake as the best ever red velvet cake recipe, I decided to give it a try.   

Ingredients:-

(makes a 9" cake)

Vegetable oil for the pans
312g all-purpose flour
287g sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder (alter to 3 tbsp)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Cream Cheese Frosting:
453g cream cheese, softened
520g sifted confectioners' sugar
230g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
Crushed pecans, for garnish  


Method:-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175° celcius). Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Resift the flour mixture.  In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with the pecans.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.
(recipe from Food Network) 

Mixture of eggs, sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, colouring and vinegar

 

The batter becomes thicker after adding the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda

I didn't follow the recipe word for word. I used 160 AP flour and 150 cake flour/ superfine flour. Reduced red colouring to 1 tbsp, sugar to 250g and used a 7" round cake pan instead of three 9" cake pans. As for the frosting, I used a different recipe.

Sunken in the middle because cake was too high

Sliced into two layers with a serrated knife

I had to extend the baking time from my intended 45 minutes to 1 hour as the cake was not properly cooked in the center likely due to not enough heat in the middle of the cake as I used a 7" pan instead of three 9" pans. The top and sides of the cake was partially burnt because of the extended baking time. Even so, the cake sank in the middle and I had to cut out the sunken part to salvage the cake. That's why the finished cake had a hole in the center. 


This cake is very moist. I won't recommend it if you like your red velvet light and airy. But if you like a dense red velvet or if you want to have a taste of the "best ever" red velvet recipe, I strongly recommend to try this out.


Since it was father's day weekend, we decided to have it as our father's day cake. Hubby said that cake had "flour smell". I am certain the smell is from the baking soda which is quite common in red velvet cakes. Sis said that she prefers my mum's recipe which is lighter and more airy. Mum didn't have much comment, just that the cake was burnt on top and moister at the bottom. As I reduced the sugar in the recipe, the cake wasn't too sweet. My colleagues absolutely loved it and said it's one of the best red velvet they've tried. Sadly, as it was a small cake, I only brought a small piece to work.


There are mixed comments on this recipe. My family didn't like it but my colleagues did. All I can conclude is that if you like your red velvet moist and dense then you'll like this. 

Happy baking! xx