Adventures in Red Velvet

So, I've never quite understood the big hype about red velvet cake. About a year or two ago, it seemed like it was all anyone could talk about and everyone became obsessed. Rumor has it it's supposed to be some cocoa-y type cake, but red, but it's got a "regular cake" flavor topped with some super yummy (I'll give them that) icing. I just never got it. Given me some lemon cake or some chocolate any day, and carrot cake is my fave when it comes to yumminess topped with cream cheese icing. E loves it, but says it tastes like regular cake, whatever that is. I'm not against it, it's good, but I just don't get the hype.  

Last night we ate an early dinner (something that seems to be happening often, since E is super hungry when he gets home from work around 4!), and so sitting on the couch watching our antenna TV, 6:00 rolled around and *someone* said, "what's for dessert?" So we dug through the cupboard and found some red velvet cake mix a friend of our bought us. We thought...why not? Let's try this.


Now, we couldn't just have  plain ol' red velvet cake, now, could we?  We decided to add marshmallows and chocolate chips to the mix, you know, to spruce up this "regular cake" flavor. 

I really think that if people saw the disaster mess that is red velvet cake when it's in batter-form, they would change their mind about the cake. Seriously, there was red everywhere, and all E and I could think up was what totally disgusting things it looked like (this is when having us both work at hospitals gets interesting!). It was gross. I usually love test-tasting the batter, but this was not worth it, considering my skin and mouth (and table cloth!) were stained red. Le ew.  But we couldn't waste it so we scooped it up into cupcake tins and popped them into the oven. 

Of course, the only cupcake pan I have only makes 6 cupcakes, so we had a TON of batter left (plus, marshmallows expanded everything by at least 25%, we didn't think about that). So out came the cake pan to make something out of the rest of it.  I wish I had a picture of the cupcakes as they came out of the oven. They were a pretty little disaster, all lumpy and bumpy and not so great looking. We saved them with icing, lots of it.  E even took out his food injector that I bought him years ago and we injected some of them with more frosting (fun but super sweet!). 

I have to say, the cake came out lovely. After the sad state of the cupcakes, I didn't imagine a giant one would have done so well, but it actually looks really pretty, and red. But really pretty. 

After the whole experience I see Red Velvet in a new light. It goes from super gross to pretty in the oven, yes, and it tastes pretty good. But it's no chocolate or lemon cake, and honestly that was the messiest cake experience ever. I still don't get the hype, but I'm happy to be able to say 'been there, done that' and I can check one more item off the proverbial baking bucket list (I guess I should start one). 

Anyone want a cake? 

XO