it is actually a fairly easy cake to put together too

Good grief, do I sound boring, or what.

I almost never eat it because all that red dye scares me…but my husband always buys two red velvet cupcakes for us from our local beloved Bernice’s Bakery for Valentine’s Day. Best. Cupcake. Ever. 🧁

Didn't the original recipe call for beet juice to get the red?
If I have that right, a juicer or a food processor and sieve would be a natural alternative. Plus, the sugar in the beets supplants some added sugar.

Makes sense tho. I wonder if the beet changes the flavor at all? I married a beet hater, unfortunately. Crazy person, he is. 😏

It's just a little juice.
Doesn't take much bright red juice to make a white batter look red.
It's the old "1 drop of black ink turns a whole gallon of milk gray" concept.
When I was still working, a lot of our fine organic products had to be light in color. As close to water as possible.
Analytical once took on a project to see how much of the reaction artifacts caused how much yellowing.
It was determined that 40ppm was ok and made very light product but 100ppm was out of spec for too much color.
So, a 60ppm was the difference between ok & not ok.

Your post made me research it and turns out it doesn’t have to be made with dye at all!

I can't envision a reaction that would turn cocoa red, unless it got near the combustion point for a fairly long amount of time.
If it got to pyrolysis though, it was get very bitter.
This article says it used beat juice until commercial dyes becomes readily available and cheap.

https://www.mrsfields.com/blogs/blog/what-is-red-velvet

Modern red coloring is not as chemical loaded as it used to be.

I do not put cream cheese frosting on it if I can help it. The original frosting for this cake was Ermine.

Except, everything is a chemical. Just that some are safer than others.!
Today's red dyes are less concerning than than those of the past, for sure.
I don't bake, (strictly a savory cook), so it's not important to me either way.

Kind of aged away from cake, though.
But, I'd still eat a piece of German Chocolate Cake is it was offered.

Makes apple cakes they mail nation wide. The are only open 4 months a year but bake everything an apple or any fruit can be in.
But you hit a nerve here. I have not had a German Chocolate in many years. Now I gotta find one.
(I live WAAAy too close to the Apple cake place. Gotta stay away our I will blow up)
Cheers!

Green mint ice cream + every chocolate option available after that... Mmmmmm!

long as it has no icing.

But, I also love Carrot Cake!

...and I am quite fond of their chocolate chocolate chip flavor - not a typo. Chocolate cake with chocolate chips and their signature cream cheese frosting. In marmer months, I have been know to walk there figuring I perhaps burn off about 3 bites worth of calories doing so.

Two doors down is a Crumbl' Cookies franchise - it's a dangerous area.

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I used to live a few miles from the Mexican border.

Drizzled with chocolate or caramel or candied strawberry. Oh hell, just drizzle it with all three.

TexasTowelie. It is delicious.

No coconut for me! However, while I prefer chocolate frosting, I'll take white frosting as well. Yum!!

The gooier, the better, lol. With a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream.

Will this count as a cake? Lol...Used to love this as a kid until my pancreas blew a gasket when I was 10.

Specifically, a cake called The Lime In the Coconut Cake that was on Food Network years ago. Grabbed the recipe and it is by far the best coconut cake ever!!

My other favorite is pineapple upside down cake!

I have my mother in laws recipe for that and pear ginger upside down cake.

It was a chore to eat because the banana slices were attached with toothpicks but the flavor and texture were heavenly. It would get better every day (if it lasted) because the banana oil would seep into the yellow cake, eventually making a brown mess as the banana slices ripened and the cake practically liquefied. Eating it at that point was so indulgent and decadent I had to mention it when I went to confession.

My mom made my favorite cake for my birthday. Banan cake with chocolate icing. The bananas were baked into the cake not on top. A lighter version of banana bread sort of.

I love to get invited to weddings.

I make a good carrot cake, very carroty, and moist with cream cheese frosting. I occasionally add a beet .for color.

Best regards,
Sorghum Crow

Last edited Tue Feb 17, 2026, 07:51 AM - Edit history (1)

Yums

Last edited Tue Feb 17, 2026, 12:16 PM - Edit history (1)

It is a hit here in Munich.

I learned that German Chocolate cake wasn't German. I was in the Air Force and asked the German wife of a coworker if she had a recipe for German chocolate cake. Thought I would get one from the source.... oops.
Even though it isn't German it is still a good cake.

I love German's Chocolate Cake

A half century ago. To my embarrassment 🫠

Also cheesecake is yummy 😁

Mom used to make it & I love it!

I have no idea what it was, it came in a box and it was awesome. Don’t know if it’s still a thing.

Likewise… Boston Cream Pie. More of a cake thing than pie. But one hundred percent yum.

Came in several flavors. It was kinda cake on top, pudding on the bottom.

MrYD and our daughter call it "The Lemon Thing"

My mom made it a lot.

Fun fact: it calls for a 2 quart dish - well the only 2 quart I had was a souffle dish. This recipe is a souffle if you make it in a deep dish.

chocolate cake with chocolate icing, but now I think it's devil's food cake with BUTTER CREAM icing. YUM!

Probably never had it...but I hope I find it some day! 😄🥰👍

Chocolate Lava cake - had that!
Devil's Food cake - this, too!

🍽😄🥰

One is carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

The other is chocolate cake with miniature chocolate chips inside it and fudge frosting on top. Must be very cold, straight from the fridge. (I prefer anything chocolate to be cold, whether it's cake, cookies, or candy.)

the #1 cake I bake is Chocolate Pound Cake using MrYD's grandmother's recipe. If I don't bring it to Thanksgiving or Christmas I have to go home and bake one.

for myself to eat:
Chocolate pound cake
German's Chocolate
Coconut Cake with Ermine frosting and a filling with crushed pineapple and coconut mixed in. At Christmas a cup of boiled custard is required.
Traditional wedding cake (some supermarkets with bakeries sell those white on white cakes by the slice)
Italian Cream Cake
Carrot cake is a favorite.
Last Christmas I baked a bunch of red velvet cakes.

I make a really good banana pistachio bread. If not, I'll take carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Make it a double, please.

Love the custard in the middle. When I was a kid Betty Crocker had a mix of it. Probably made with yucky ingredients. Now at organic place I shop you can buy a miniature one that does two servings. But boy is it rich.