When my mom taught me to bake, we discussed Red Velvet Cakes, and Devil's Food.
The term "velvet" comes from the texture of the cake itself, and is just what one gets when one uses a cake mix. The grain is even and the cake hold together well. This used to be difficult to achieve when making cakes from scratch, but with a mix, it is a given.
I will explain Devil's Food Cake first, and tomorrow, Red Velvet Cake. Spoiler Alert!! This has nothing to do with the Civil War. It is from the Great Depression and earlier. I think it ironic that, just as we have entered another Great Depression, we have resurrected Red Velvet Cake.
Basically, both require a whole bottle of red food coloring. When you make a chocolate cake from a mix, pour the bottle of food coloring into the measured amount of liquid used for the recipe. The result will be a very red-tinted chocolate cake--hence DEVIL'S Food. The icing is any chocolate icing with red food coloring added.
Yep--our traditional American foods usually require the addition of a significant amount of petro-chemicals.
Obviously you have never had a "southern" red velvet cake. It is more than a "devil's food" cake mix with red food coloring. The icing is more than a chocolate icing. I would recommend you research recipes of this cake, its ingredients, and learn that it is a pride of the south recipe for a reason. I have made it for people from California to Maryland and always told they never had anything like it.
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