When it comes to food, the division between what is “southern” and what is “Black” is as blurred as the boundary between where Harlem ends and Sugar Hill begins. (I’m inclined to say, though I’m sure others will argue, that just as all of Sugar Hill is in Harlem but not all Harlem is Sugar Hill, all southern cuisine is Black food, though not all Black food is southern.) This is an especially salient point when it comes to red velvet cake, which holds the distinction of being perhaps the most popular dessert in the soul food kitchen. Never mind the fact that it isn’t really southern and doesn’t have deep roots in Black culture.
How a cake that was, as most scholars agree, invented at New York’s Waldorf Astoria in the 1920s, made popular by a man who sold red food coloring in the 1930s, and spread nationally in the 1950s came to be seen as the ultimate soul food dessert is unclear. But by the time I was growing up in the Bronx and spending time in East Harlem, red velvet cake was on the menu of every soul food restaurant on 125th. Perhaps none was as well known as the Kool-Aid red version made by Sylvia Woods of the iconic Sylvia’s.
Luckily for me, at the time, my mother was working at the now-closed Sugar Hill Bistro, a restaurant that served upscale soul food which included, naturally, a version of red velvet. Whereas Sylvia uses food coloring, this recipe uses beetroot to give the cake its supernaturally silken texture and a deep crimson hue. It was this recipe, along with seafood gumbo, that I’d ask my mother to make every birthday and still do, up to this day.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘My America’ by Kwame Onwuachi. Buy the full book on Amazon. Click through for more cake history →
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What you’ll need
Coconut Sugar
$12 At Amazon
Cake Flour
$6 At Target
9-Inch Round Cake Pans
$25 At Amazon
Vanilla Bean Paste
$27 At Amazon
Red velvet cake will keep in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week. The cake layers and the icing may each be made up to 2 days in advance and stored separately in the refrigerator before assembling. Let the icing come to room temperature before assembling.
Recipe information
Yield
10 to 12 servings
Ingredients
For the cake
For the icing
Preparation
For the cake
Step 1
Peel and dice the beet. Transfer to a blender and purée until completely smooth. Reserve in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Beet purée may be made up to 1 day in advance.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating to combine completely between additions, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 4
In a small bowl, stir together the cocoa powder with 4 tablespoons beet purée to make a paste. Add to the stand mixer and beat to combine.
Step 5
In a measuring cup, stir together the salt, vanilla bean paste, and buttermilk. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder. Add ½ cup flour mixture to the batter and mix on low until just combined, then add ¼ cup buttermilk mixture, mixing until just combined. Repeat until both mixtures have been used up. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, then gently fold in the vinegar and stop stirring.
Step 6
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake, rotating halfway through, for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment paper, and cool completely.
For the icing
Step 7
Combine flour and milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, then remove from the heat and let cool complete.
Step 8
Beat the coconut sugar, butter, and vanilla bean paste in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat again until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the cooled flour mixture and beat again until the frosting is silky and spreadable, a final 1 to 2 minutes.
To assemble
Step 9
When the cakes are completely cool, set one on a serving plate. Frost the top of it, then place the second cake on top, bottom side up. (This will give you a flat top surface.) Frost the top and sides with the remaining icing, then serve.
Recipe notes
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