Yes, that's right. I'm baking a box mix cake.

I usually make the fabulous Hershey's chocolate cake from scratch. We
decided a couple of weeks ago that a box mix was in order because I become
so overwhelmed when I'm preparing for holidays.

Crash chose the cake I'd be making. Duncan Hines Red Velvet. OMG! That
batter is RED! If it turns out well and everyone likes it, I'll frost it
with green-tinted Jiffy white frosting next year. That's right. Jiffy.
This year, we got chocolate, not realizing that this cake would be blood
red. It's possible that it could become a holiday tradition for us.

I do have a recipe for making this cake from scratch. Valentine's Day?

Christmas Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> Yes, that's right. I'm baking a box mix cake.

Shhhh.... Don't tell anybody, but so did I. I made 6 rum cakes to give
to my neighbors. The glaze was so good I wanted to drink it.

Becca


Rum Cake

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 package Duncan Hines butter chocolate cake mix
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rum
Glaze (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour Bundt pan and sprinkle pecans in bottom.
In a medium bowl, combine cake and pudding mixes. Add eggs, oil, water
and rum. Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour into prepared Bundt
pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until cake tests done. Remove from
oven; gently pour glaze over hot cake.


Glaze

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup rum
1/4 cup water

Combine sugar, butter, rum and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil
for 2 minutes.

On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 10:57:42 -0600, Becca > wrote:

>Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
>> Yes, that's right. I'm baking a box mix cake.
>
>Shhhh.... Don't tell anybody, but so did I. I made 6 rum cakes to give
>to my neighbors. The glaze was so good I wanted to drink it.

Dayam! That sounds fabulous! It goes into my goodies file. Thanks for
posting!

Christmas Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

Becca wrote:

>
> Shhhh.... Don't tell anybody, but so did I. I made 6 rum cakes to give
> to my neighbors. The glaze was so good I wanted to drink it.
>
> Becca
>
>
> Rum Cake
>
<snip>

Printed & filed

Red Velvet Cake.... lol... the first time I encountered this was in Texas.
It was somebody's birthday and this was what was being offered up. I asked
a co-worker what the big deal was and he was stunned that I'd never heard of
it before. When I asked what it tasted like he just shrugged and said "Red
Velvet". Go figure. I hope it turned out. Hard to know for sure seeing
how no one can offer a taste profile for it. <g>

Bob
"Damsel in dis Dress" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, that's right. I'm baking a box mix cake.
>
> I usually make the fabulous Hershey's chocolate cake from scratch. We
> decided a couple of weeks ago that a box mix was in order because I become
> so overwhelmed when I'm preparing for holidays.
>
> Crash chose the cake I'd be making. Duncan Hines Red Velvet. OMG! That
> batter is RED! If it turns out well and everyone likes it, I'll frost it
> with green-tinted Jiffy white frosting next year. That's right. Jiffy.
> This year, we got chocolate, not realizing that this cake would be blood
> red. It's possible that it could become a holiday tradition for us.
>
> I do have a recipe for making this cake from scratch. Valentine's Day?
>
> Christmas Carol
> --
> "Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
> 'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
> Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."
>
> *James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

"Bob Westcott" > wrote in message
news:IlWzd.577459$Pl.359852@pd7tw1no...
> Red Velvet Cake.... lol... the first time I encountered this was in Texas.
> It was somebody's birthday and this was what was being offered up. I
> asked a co-worker what the big deal was and he was stunned that I'd never
> heard of it before. When I asked what it tasted like he just shrugged and
> said "Red Velvet". Go figure. I hope it turned out. Hard to know for
> sure seeing how no one can offer a taste profile for it. <g>
>
> Bob

Nothing worse than sitting down to red velvet cake and tasting a mouthful of
blue.

> "Damsel in dis Dress" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Yes, that's right. I'm baking a box mix cake.
>>
>> I usually make the fabulous Hershey's chocolate cake from scratch. We
>> decided a couple of weeks ago that a box mix was in order because I
>> become
>> so overwhelmed when I'm preparing for holidays.
>>
>> Crash chose the cake I'd be making. Duncan Hines Red Velvet. OMG! That
>> batter is RED! If it turns out well and everyone likes it, I'll frost it
>> with green-tinted Jiffy white frosting next year. That's right. Jiffy.
>> This year, we got chocolate, not realizing that this cake would be blood
>> red. It's possible that it could become a holiday tradition for us.
>>
>> I do have a recipe for making this cake from scratch. Valentine's Day?
>>
>> Christmas Carol

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 16:01:44 GMT, "Bob Westcott"
> wrote:

>Red Velvet Cake.... lol... the first time I encountered this was in Texas.
>It was somebody's birthday and this was what was being offered up. I asked
>a co-worker what the big deal was and he was stunned that I'd never heard of
>it before. When I asked what it tasted like he just shrugged and said "Red
>Velvet". Go figure. I hope it turned out. Hard to know for sure seeing
>how no one can offer a taste profile for it. <g>

It's chocolate cake with an entire 2 ounce bottle of red food coloring.
The batter looks like a bowl of blood, but it just tastes chocolate. Next
Christmas, I'll make a white frosting with green food coloring. For
Valentine's day, I'll tint the frosting pink, or use white frosting and
pink sprinkles.

Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:


> It's chocolate cake with an entire 2 ounce bottle of red food coloring.
> The batter looks like a bowl of blood, but it just tastes chocolate. Next
> Christmas, I'll make a white frosting with green food coloring. For
> Valentine's day, I'll tint the frosting pink, or use white frosting and
> pink sprinkles.
>
> Carol

It doesn't add to the cake's texture or flavor, so
I don't really get the point? In fact, I cringe at
the idea of eating all that food dye.
Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!
Goomba the Scrooge

>Goomba38 writes:
>
>It doesn't add to the cake's texture or flavor, so
>I don't really get the point? In fact, I cringe at
>the idea of eating all that food dye.
>Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!
>Goomba the Scrooge

But what if the red color is natural and nutritious?

Chocolate Beet Cake

Alisa Bangerter - Author of Sweet Surprises for the Holidays

This is a very moist and delicious chocolate cake. The "secret ingredient" of
beets is what makes this cake so moist.

1 can (15 oz.) whole beets, drained (save juice)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup juice from beets
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted

Sift together salt, baking soda, and flour. Set aside. Place beets in blender
jar and puree. Add sugar, oil, and beet juice to beets and blend. Add eggs and
vanilla. Blend well. Pour the beet mixture into a mixing bowl and add the dry
ingredients. Mix well on medium speed for approximately one minute. Stir in
melted chocolate. Pour batter into two greased and floured 8- or 9-inch round
cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted
comes out clean. Let cool. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and
decorate top with chocolate curls if desired.

To make chocolate curls: Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips or semi-sweet baking
squares in the microwave. Invert a baking sheet and spread the chocolate in a
thin layer over the sheet. Let set in refrigerator until chocolate is set but
not hard. Take a spatula and scrape the chocolate from the pan to create a
curl. The curls will be as wide as the spatula used. If the chocolate breaks
let it soften at room temperature. If it is too soft, return to the
refrigerator for a few more minutes. When you have the right consistency you
will be able to create beautiful chocolate curls. Place a pile of curls on the
cake and lightly dust with powdered sugar.
---



---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

>Goomba38 writes:
>
>It doesn't add to the cake's texture or flavor, so
>I don't really get the point? In fact, I cringe at
>the idea of eating all that food dye.
>Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!
>Goomba the Scrooge

But what if the red color is natural and nutritious?

Chocolate Beet Cake

Alisa Bangerter - Author of Sweet Surprises for the Holidays

This is a very moist and delicious chocolate cake. The "secret ingredient" of
beets is what makes this cake so moist.

1 can (15 oz.) whole beets, drained (save juice)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup juice from beets
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted

Sift together salt, baking soda, and flour. Set aside. Place beets in blender
jar and puree. Add sugar, oil, and beet juice to beets and blend. Add eggs and
vanilla. Blend well. Pour the beet mixture into a mixing bowl and add the dry
ingredients. Mix well on medium speed for approximately one minute. Stir in
melted chocolate. Pour batter into two greased and floured 8- or 9-inch round
cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted
comes out clean. Let cool. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and
decorate top with chocolate curls if desired.

To make chocolate curls: Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips or semi-sweet baking
squares in the microwave. Invert a baking sheet and spread the chocolate in a
thin layer over the sheet. Let set in refrigerator until chocolate is set but
not hard. Take a spatula and scrape the chocolate from the pan to create a
curl. The curls will be as wide as the spatula used. If the chocolate breaks
let it soften at room temperature. If it is too soft, return to the
refrigerator for a few more minutes. When you have the right consistency you
will be able to create beautiful chocolate curls. Place a pile of curls on the
cake and lightly dust with powdered sugar.
---



---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 15:33:38 -0500, Goomba38 > wrote:

>Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
>
>> It's chocolate cake with an entire 2 ounce bottle of red food coloring.
>> The batter looks like a bowl of blood, but it just tastes chocolate. Next
>> Christmas, I'll make a white frosting with green food coloring. For
>> Valentine's day, I'll tint the frosting pink, or use white frosting and
>> pink sprinkles.
>
>It doesn't add to the cake's texture or flavor, so
>I don't really get the point? In fact, I cringe at
>the idea of eating all that food dye.
>Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!
>Goomba the Scrooge

But, but, but .... it's pretty! And it's only a once or twice a year
thing. I'm not even sure I'll make one for Valentine's Day. I should be
well into my low-carb resolution by then. Instead of the cake, I guess I
could just drink food coloring. <G>

Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

On 27 Dec 2004 20:45:30 GMT, (PENMART01) wrote:

>>Goomba38 writes:
>>
>>It doesn't add to the cake's texture or flavor, so
>>I don't really get the point? In fact, I cringe at
>>the idea of eating all that food dye.
>>Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!
>>Goomba the Scrooge
>
>But what if the red color is natural and nutritious?
>
>Chocolate Beet Cake
>
>Alisa Bangerter - Author of Sweet Surprises for the Holidays
>
>This is a very moist and delicious chocolate cake. The "secret ingredient" of
>beets is what makes this cake so moist.

Cool! We like beets. I'll talk to Crash about giving this a try.

Thank for posting it,
Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

Damsel wrote:

I'm baking a box mix cake.

******************
On one of my many trips to Borders bookstore to copy recipes
out of their cookbooks (cheapskate!), I picked one up on cakes
and was surprised to find that all the recipes called for a cake
mix. I found this puzzling until I looked closer at the title and
discovered that it was not THE CAKE DOCTOR, but instead
THE CAKE MIX DOCTOR.

My mother used to make a delicious red cake, and I'm not
sure if she made it from scratch or not. I know she did add a
lot of red dye to it. It was iced with a white icing that I would
guess involved cream cheese. She always made one for my
birthday because I liked them so much.

Michael

Damsel wrote:

I'm baking a box mix cake.

******************
On one of my many trips to Borders bookstore to copy recipes
out of their cookbooks (cheapskate!), I picked one up on cakes
and was surprised to find that all the recipes called for a cake
mix. I found this puzzling until I looked closer at the title and
discovered that it was not THE CAKE DOCTOR, but instead
THE CAKE MIX DOCTOR.

My mother used to make a delicious red cake, and I'm not
sure if she made it from scratch or not. I know she did add a
lot of red dye to it. It was iced with a white icing that I would
guess involved cream cheese. She always made one for my
birthday because I liked them so much.

Michael

Damsel wrote:

I'm baking a box mix cake.

******************
On one of my many trips to Borders bookstore to copy recipes
out of their cookbooks (cheapskate!), I picked one up on cakes
and was surprised to find that all the recipes called for a cake
mix. I found this puzzling until I looked closer at the title and
discovered that it was not THE CAKE DOCTOR, but instead
THE CAKE MIX DOCTOR.

My mother used to make a delicious red cake, and I'm not
sure if she made it from scratch or not. I know she did add a
lot of red dye to it. It was iced with a white icing that I would
guess involved cream cheese. She always made one for my
birthday because I liked them so much.

Michael

Michael wrote:

> My mother used to make a delicious red cake, and I'm not
> sure if she made it from scratch or not. I know she did add a
> lot of red dye to it. It was iced with a white icing that I would
> guess involved cream cheese.

For red velvet cakes, it is usually a 5-minute icing. At least, it is
where I live.

Becca

All this time, I thought it was chocolate... a redish
chocolate, but still heavy on the cocoa powder. Glad I
never went past the name.

````````````````````

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 12:25:30 -0600, Alan
wrote:

> I've had a couple of versions, and they tasted like cake flavored with, um,
> red food dye.
>
> Didn't much like them, actually.
>
> I guess it's one of those novelties that some people like. . .


sf
Practice safe eating - always use condiments

Goomba38 wrote:

It doesn't add to the cake's texture or flavor, so
I don't really get the point? In fact, I cringe at
the idea of eating all that food dye.
Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!

************
I see nothing wrong with the red dye. I sometimes go
to a lot of trouble to make what I'm fixing attractive, and
while I think the deep brown color typical to a chocolate
cake is pleasing, I also think the red color is unusual
and striking and a worthwhile change of pace.

Michael

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 22:00:01 GMT, sf > wrote:

>All this time, I thought it was chocolate... a redish
>chocolate, but still heavy on the cocoa powder. Glad I
>never went past the name.

Out of curiosity, I went to epicurious.com and did a recipe search.
The photo looked prett (of course), but my brain did kind of a
disconnet between the red cake and the idea of chocolate. Their
archive turned up the following from June 2003 Bon Appeit:

RED VELVET CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES AND BLUEBERRIES
This cake is a southern tradition for festive occasions. It can be
completely assembled and chilled one day before serving.

Cake
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
Frosting
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 1/2-pint baskets fresh raspberries
3 1/2-pint baskets fresh blueberries

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans
with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking
powder, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, food
coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Using electric
mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add
eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat
in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture
in 3 additions.
Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted
into center comes out clean, about 27 minutes. Cool in pans on racks
10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

For frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in
vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting
over top of cake. Arrange 1 basket raspberries and 1/2 basket
blueberries atop frosting, pressing lightly to adhere. Top with second
cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and
sides of cake. Arrange remaining berries decoratively over top of
cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at
room temperature 1 hour before serving.)

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

On 27 Dec 2004 17:08:47 -0800, "Michael"
> wrote:

> Gimme a good old chocolate cake sans the dye, please!

Yeah, baby... your house or mine?

sf
Practice safe eating - always use condiments