Emma Dalyna's Cake Kitchen: 2012

My best buddy cum housemate does not like cake very much. Once I offered her a lovely and tantalizing red velvet cupcake, she totally said no thank you! Who in the right mind would reject a cupcake, a red velvet cupcake at that! That was way before she had a taste of red velvet, which happened when her colleague brought the cake to the office and insisted on giving her a piece. And the rest is history. She is now a red velvet freak! She could finish a whole 500 g of red velvet cake on her own, I tell you. (Might be a bit of an exaggeration but it is very possible!).

So the story that I’m about the share with all of you is not about my best buddy cum housemate but about the absolutely magical cake called the red velvet. The red velvet as everyone knows now, is a red velvety rich chocolate cake topped with cream cheese frosting. But little does everyone know the history of red velvet, the origins of red velvet. I am actually a cake freak therefore I constantly Google and read about cakes.

The red velvet cake is actually a chocolate cake but the reaction between buttermilk and vinegar causes the cake to turn a pale red, revealing the red Anthocyanin in the cocoa. But these days, we have the luxury of food colouring to enhance the colour of red velvet cake. For those who wondered, what in the world is Anthocyanin?? That was my first reaction by the way when I read about it..ha ha. Well, (spoken in professor-like manner) Anthocyanin are the pigments which are responsible for the red, purple and blue colours of most fruits, vegetables, cereal grains and flowers. I'm actually not as clever as the professor who researched about Anthocyanin, I got all this info from a dear friend Mr Google.

Without further ado, as the saying goes a picture paints a thousand words. So here are a thousand words for you, maybe more as I have few pictures of the red velvet cakes that I have made in the past. Not all though, just the highlights. Enjoy!