Red Velvet Cake - failing miserably!!!

[revpat55]

Hi, can anyone help! I am trying to make red velvet cupcakes & I am having no success. I have tried the Hummingbird Bakery recipe & the Cake Boss recipe as well as one found on a US website but the cakes are turning out brown rather than red. All recipes use cocoa powder & red food colouring but even tho on the final recipe I doubled the amount of red food colouring they still look like chocolate cupcakes. Where am I going wrong? Any suggestions? Thanks

[boxtops]

have you got a link to a recipe? I've never heard of them!

[daisya]

Maybe don't use cocoa powder as that will certainly darken the mixture. Just use white flour with double red colouring (cochineal)?

[erin-x]

How much food colouring are you adding? I watched Lorraine Pascale making a red velvet cake and she added a whole bottle. I would love to try the cupcakes one day. Would you maybe post the recipe when you perfect it?? :-) x

[revpat55]

Boxtops - for the Hummingbird recipe go to www.goodtoknow.com & search the recipes. The Cake Boss one is on Oprahs website- I just typed in "cake boss red velvet cake recipe" & it was about the 2nd link down. Daisya, going to try cadbury's highlights instead of cocoa & see if thet works any better. Cheers!

[valerieb1254]

Hope this will be of some help to you.

[vodkancoke]

I always use the Hummingbird Bakery recipe and they always turn out red. You can't omit the cocoa powder daisya as it is basically a red chocolate cake. Make sure you are using cocoa powder and not chocolate powder
I have the book, maybe the online one has misprinted something:

To make 12 cupcakes

60g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
1 egg
20g cocoa powder
40ml red food colouring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

[vodkancoke]

Sorry meant to say, they are not meant to be bright red....they are a darker red like in my profile piccy :)

[valerieb1254]

Sorry got a visit just as I was posting & forgot the link.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCake.html

[vodkancoke]

I have Lorraine Pascale's book too. Her advice when making it is to use a good quality food colouring. Don't use "natural red". I have her recipe if you want it. It is for a huge 3 tier cake but you can alter the quantity to suit you.
I have in the past used food colouring paste with good results but where I live it's quite difficult to always get. Good luck! :)

[valerieb1254]

I like watching Lorraine Pascale,she's good.

[vodkancoke]

She's fab and her book is brilliant. :)

[revpat55]

Sorry for the delay in replying - busy making a novelty cake shaped like a fort! All brilliant answers - vodkancoke, thats the recipe I used - I think I may have an image in my mind thats not correct - I'm expecting blood red! Valerieb1254, I have watched the video & her cake also seems more red than mine. I have ordered food colouring gel online from Wiltons as thats supposed to be the best brand - fingers crossed!