09/04/2026
❤️ CAKE OF THE WEEK ❤️ Okay y’all, I’m giving the people what they want this week, with a fresh local twist: introducing my Old School Red Velvet Cake! But first, it’s time for a History Lesson…
Did you know that Red Velvet Cake actually predates commercial food coloring? In the late 1800’s, chocolate cakes were becoming popular due to the introduction of cocoa powder. One of the most popular varieties came to be known as Devil’s Cake. A few years later, bakers started adding acids like buttermilk to their batter to activate the baking soda leavening, creating a lighter crumb and fluffy texture. However, the acid also had another effect: it activated pigments found in the cocoa powder, causing the cake to take on a rusty reddish hue. This pigmented variety of cake soon became known as Red Devil’s Cake or Velvet Cocoa Cake, due to the soft velvety texture.
However, during the rationing periods of both World Wars and the Great Depression, bakers were forced to get clever due to an overall lack of sugar and cocoa. Many bakers started using red beets as a sugar replacement, and as a means to replicate the earthy flavors and colors of cocoa. Interestingly enough, the more prominent red tint from the beets became culturally ingrained into the identity of the Velvet Cake over the years, which eventually prompted commercial food dye producers to distribute recipes for Velvet Cake loaded with red food coloring to promote their products, eventually labeling it Red Velvet Cake.
So yeah, that whole long-winded explanation was basically just a way for me to justify putting beets in a cake.
I mean, we ARE at a farmer’s market, aren’t we? And what do we have a ton of? BEETS! So buckle up, buttercup, we’re doing it. We’re making the Old School version of Red Velvet Cake with no dyes or coloring other than local beets from our friends and fellow market vendors at Juniper Hill Farm. Now, of course it isn’t gonna be that bright red shade that we’re all used to, but rather a rich burgundy closer to the true origins of Red Velvet Cake. And no, it doesn’t taste like beet cake, just chocolatey goodness!
Come visit me tomorrow morning at Lawrence Farmers Market!
