Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake

“This cake is a time consuming recipe.I’ve made it dozens of times from a recipe (exact) that didn’t give the Waldorf credit.It is delicious. The icing has a wonderful flavor that does not compete with the rich, but delicate chocolate cake.If you are a red velvet fan-This is the Gold Medal of all Red Velvets.”

“This is a wonderful cake that we use for only real special occassions. I would llike to make one ammendment. The cake is much better when you use 1/2 vup of real butter instead of shortning.”

“this is a wonderful recipe..i found this same recipe in an old shed on my property with a note attached dated aug 1959 ,It stated the person received this recipe by paying the hotel 250.00 for it..it is a wonderful cake ..has great flavor I highly recommend it!!!”

“1st of all – thank you troyh for posting this recipe.It was published in our local newspaper back in the 70’s when I was 7.We tried it; loved it; lost the recipe.It has always been my most favorite cake ever!Okay, now on to some other things about what previous people said. A) It really is granulated sugar, not confectioners.It will dissolve if you whip it properly.It will be grainy until after you add the flour/milk paste – that it when it really smooths out. B) Definately use fresh cake flour.If it’s been in the cabinet for 6 months, go buy some new.C) This is not a chocolate cake – it is red velvet cake, named not only for the color, but the unique taste.Don’t expect a chocolate cake just because their is cocoa in the recipe. D) Make sure your flour/milk paste is smooth – lumps will kill your frosting.Trying sifting the flour as you stir it in to the milk.I found that to help. E)If you found the cake to be dry, it was overcooked.This cake recipe is tried and true but very sensitive.F) Serve this cake slightly cooler than room temperature – it really brings out the flavor of both the cake and the frosting. G)The amount of frosting is usually sufficient for most.It makes enough to fully frost and fill an 8 inch round moderately. If you like a really thick layer, double the recipe.Made properly, this cake is AMAZING!NOTE:If you really want to replicate what the Waldorf does, find some edible gold leaf and top off your cake with a bit of sparkle!”

“This cake is to die for! I made this cake and also made mini red velvet cupcakes for my Birthday and my family and friends loved them. The cake is so moist, with a wonderfully delicate chocolate flavor, and not too sweet. I did change the recipe a little, for any Aussies out there instead of shortening, I used full cream Tasmanian butter, and for the colouring, I used Queens Pillar Box Red, 25mls (1/2 bottle) which I added to the milk. I also sifted the cocoa in with the flour and salt, it makes for a much lighter batter and fluffier cake. An excellent recipe, definitely one to keep.”

“Five Stars! After reading the mixed reviews I was hesitant about blindly relying on this cake for Thanksgiving dinner so decided to take a test run by halving the recipe and making cupcakes. OMG! Where to begin. I was blown away by the melt in your mouth moist, tender texture of this cake.In fact, the cupcakes were so moist and delicate that they literally fell apart when touched. When eating them I had two choices: eat them directly from the wrapper or eat them from cake smudged fingers.I made only one adjustment to the recipe, butter instead of shortening.I also kept a careful eye on them past the 15 min mark, checking every 5 mins. thereafter. They were done at the 25 min mark.For those having problems with this recipe three things come to mind: freshness of the ingredients, adequate creaming of the butter and sugar, and baking time.Use only recently purchased ingredients and cream the butter. And sugar until light and fluffy prior to adding the eggs and vanilla. A note on the butter:It should bend without breaking. If it breaks it’ s too cold. If it’s a globby mess it’s too warm.)And finally I used a shifter to add the flour to butter mixture.I went with the frosting recipe given with a slight variation. I substituted two tablespoons of cream cheese for two tablespoons of the butter.The result was a creamy not too sweet frosting with a barely discernable twang.Today I am baking up a batch for my helpful friends down at the hardware store and can’t wait to see their expressions of bliss when thy bite into sweet perfection.Thanks so much for this recipe!”

“Never cared for or understood Red Velvet Cake before, but it’s a friend’s favorite and I wanted to make her something special. Obviously I never tried this one before. WOW! This was light, moist, not overly sweet, fantastic! Thanks to all the reviews (I always read them before actually trying a recipe) I too cut back to 2oz of food color. Coloring was beautiful. Batter thin but rose perfectly level and high! I really don’t find scratch cakes that much more difficult than box especially when the taste is so much better. Thanks for sharing – one I’ll make over and over,”

“This cake was delicious and offered a dramatic presentation, with the dark red cake and the white frosting. Being the first time out with this recipe, I followed the instructions to the letter. A few call outs:1. The cake came out perfectly moist and dense. For reviewers saying that it was too dry, try adjusting the temperature of your oven and/or cook time. Different ovens cook at different temperatures, and I’ve burnt a cake more than once by being too literal with the instructions.2. The flour frosting was amazing – liked whipped cream, but doesn’t melt. Next time, I plan to increase the amounts called for in the recipe. I used two 8-inch diameter layers for the cake, and didn’t have enough frosting. I had to make a second batch.3. I would definitely recommend using 2 oz. of red dye. It yields a rich, dark red color for the cake. One ounce of dye made the cake look bright red – sort of like a clown nose or a fire truck. Some of the charm and sophistication that should come with this cake was lost.”

“Awesome!!! I tried other recipes but this came out perfect. I don’t have cake flour so I use AP flour (I took out four tablespoon and a teaspoon)”

“UPDATE: I found an easier to foolproof the frosting! Start with the milk first, then sprinkle the flour on top. Whisk continuously! Seriously, don’t walk away from it! Just stand and whisk for a few minutes. Another tip, if you have a small food chopper or Magic Bullet, give your granulated sugar some quick pulses, and voila! Superfine sugar. If only I could give this 10 stars! I have already made this twice in less than 2 weeks! It’s not as hard as it looks, it’s just a lot of little steps. I know that this roux frosting is the real traditional frosting for red velvet, not cream cheese icing (although I do love that). I used butter, Hershey’s Dark cocoa, and only 1 ounce of red food coloring (I really don’t like to use dyes). I wasn’t worried about it being dry because I’ve never really had a problem with dry cakes that used butter. The cake was moist, not too light, not too dense, and very tasty with that hint of chocolate (red velvet is NOT a chocolate cake, it’s a buttermilk cake with a HINT of cocoa). However, I did have a little trouble with the frosting. So like another reviewer who also had lumps, I strained it. But I guess it wasn’t enough because the frosting was still a little grainy (and like another user, I used granulated sugar since it was ‘traditional’). So I made half of the roux mixture again, and put some of it in while it was still hot. This melted the sugar and produced a very smooth, silky, airy frosting that is absolutely amazing! My sister gave some to a friend (who loved the frosting because it wasn’t too sweet and paid me to bake one for her!) and brought some to work. A coworker said it was perfect, and the frosting was light, so it makes you feel like you can eat a few more slices without feeling too heavy and rich! This is now a staple in my collection. Thank you soooo much for sharing!”

“W-O-W!!! I have used recipes from this site before, but I *had* to create an account to comment on this one. This is absolutely the best cake I have ever made and is perhaps the best dessert I have ever made. It is so ridiculously rich and delicious, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love it. I made only a few minor adjustments: I used a stick of butter in place of the shortening (as others suggested); I used only one ounce (a full bottle!) of red food coloring, and will probably use even less next time; and since I didn’t have cake flour, I used 2 cups of all-purpose and 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Definitely try the frosting as well, I thought it went very nicely with the cake. Just make sure you keep whipping it until there are no sugar granules left. Thanks for a new favorite, Troy!!”

“It’s the only cake I’ve been making for every celebration since I disscovered it here and nobody is bored with it yet.”

“I have been looking for this exact recipe for AGES. My favorite aunt gave it to me (she pretty much believed the urban legend about having to pay for it and made me promise to keep the secret) years ago and I have misplaced it.I lost my aunt and this always reminds me of her and makes me smile. More recent versions leave out the vinegar and recommend cream cheese icing…oh NO.I particularly LOVE the pairing of the cake with the somewhat complicated frosting.It’s even better a day or so later once the frosting has had a chance to meld with the cake.THANK YOU for posting this for me.This is the BEST.”

“I’ve never made the cake, but the frosting, although a little difficult to make, is the BEST frosting of all! It’s great on any cake. It’s light, fluffy, not too sweet or bland, and overall it’s delicious. I pair it with a different cake recipe I tried and the combination is legendary. Thanks for posting!”

“A friend requested a Red Velvet Cake for his graduation present and I made this one.Had no problems with the recipe as written.Was reluctant to add 2 OZ red food coloring – but I did and the cake was really really dark red.Others have said 1 OZ does the trick.Next time will try only 1 OZ. For the frosting:I whisked (which I think is key) the flour into the milk one TBL at a time – thenI cooked it – stirring constantly for about 4 minutes till it got really really thick and sludge like…Initially I was scared of the frosting (!) given all of the reviews – but when I mixed the cooled milk/flour sludge with the butter/sugar which had been running for about 8 minutes in my mixer, the frosting came together very very nicely and was excellent.Actually recommended this frosting to a friend for a different desert!All in all – the graduation crew said it was a perfect red velvet cake!Thanks much!”

“I got this recipe from a friend in 1985 and have used it so many times.I love it.It has never failed.For baby showers I make pink and/or blue batter.For wedding showers I leave it white.The unfrosted cake freezes beautifully and is easier to frost when frozen.Can’t say enough good things about this lusciousness.”

“Love it!”

“This recipe was awesome! Instead of a cake, I made cupcakes, as the occasion was casual. I used cream cheese icing and pecans, but the actual cake was beyond words! Even my Dad, who is southern to the bone, said it was the best he had ever had – even better than his mother’s! Will make this again and again! THX!”

“I was so impressed with myself for making this cake… hee hee!I believe this is the first time I’ve made a cake like this from scratch.I didn’t find it all that difficult or time consuming… It proabably took more time to pull out all the ingredients than it did to assemble the batter.When I can, I like to have all the ingredients out and pre-measured so I can just grab things as needed – it seems to speed up the assembly process quite a bit (cheap disposable paper bowls are great for this!).I did use 3 pans sprayed with Bakers Joy (love that stuff) and baked for exactly 24 minutes and the cakes came out perfectly.I didn’t use the frosting posted here because I was making the cake for my SIL’s birthday and figured she would expect a cream cheese frosting… since her brother (my hubby) couldn’t concieve of why a red velvet cake wouldn’t have a cream cheese frosting!I used Recipe #90142 but reduced the sugar so it wouldn’t compete with the subtle cake.I stacked the layers, frosted the cake, and loaded it up with 29 candles and everyone loved it.I think the trick to not having the cake dry out is to bake it for the shortest time possible and pull it out when it is just done and then frost it and store in the fridge.I think if I had not refridgerated it the cake would have been dry.Only change I made is to use butter instead of shortening.Next time I’ll definitely make the frosting posted here! Very yummy!”

“I don’t think this cake is any more time-consuming than any other homemade. I mean look you’re not opening a box of Duncan Hines cakemix here people. I always make mine with butter and toss in a T of oil and have never found my cake to be dry. The frosting recipe has been hit of miss for me though, sometimes it turns out grainy, sometimes not. That’s my own fault though, not the recipe’s, I think I just need some more practice with that part…”