This recipe came about as a counter birthday cake to a Chocolate version: in other words, it is a type of Devil’s Food Cake for the non-chocoholics present at the birthday party.
However, at first sight, the title, ‘Vanilla’ Devil’s Food Cake does not really compute. After all, one of the theories about how Devil’s Food Cake came about suggests that it was an opposite of, or a counter to, the existing white or yellow Angel Food Cake. Also, it was at a time when both baking chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder became readily available and affordable, and hence, suitable for making cakes. Originally it was also known as ‘Satan Cake’, and according to Stephen James Schmidt (a culinary historian), ‘it was a very dark cake - one so dark that it suggested some affiliation with the devil’.
The first known recipe for Devil’s Food Cake is believed to have been published in 1902 in the highly influential Mrs Rorer’s New Cook Book: A Manual of Housekeeping. It should be noted that the first chocolate cakes were not even very chocolatey. According to the Food historian Stephen Jones Schmidt, bakers in the mid-to-late 1800’s originally added cocoa powder to cakes only as a means to darken the cake batter.
There are other theories on its origin which are based on different names associated with the cake: Red Velvet Cake, and Red Devil’s Cake (originally, it was a mild chocolate cake that was red in colour). It is on the basis of Devil’s Food Cake originally being a mild chocolate cake, the origin of ‘Velvet’ in the cake’s name, and, historically, a Mahogany Cake, that the reality of a Vanilla Devil’s Food Cake becomes possible.
Historically, and deconstructing some of these cake titles, a case appears for the reality of a Vanilla Devil’s Food Cake.
Before making that case, it should be noted that, before the 19th Century, there was little to distinguish cake from bread, other than the fact that cakes contained richer ingredients, such as butter and eggs. Then, in terms of leavening, usually, cakes derived their lightness through whipping air into eggs, for example, as is the case in making a Génoise, and in making other sponge cakes. At that time, to chemically leaven cakes required the use of yeast. The relevance of the use of chemical leavening (rather than the use of yeast) will become clear soon.
First, dealing with the term ‘Velvet’. Bakers in the 1800s began to use almond flour, cornstarch, and a little cocoa powder to soften the protein in the flour used: to soften the heavier and more dense cakes (the traditional yellow or white cake varieties), that the early American settlers made, and this resulted in finer textured cakes. Velvet cakes first appeared during the Victorian era (1837 – 1901). Velvet cakes were so called because of the fineness of their crumb structure (texture). In his 1873 book, Dr Chase’s Family Physician, Beekeeper and Second Recipe Book, (Ann Arbor Printing and Publishing Company, Michigan) describes the newfangled Velvet Cakes: ‘There is quite a tendency of late to have nice and smooth names applied to things as well as to have nice things hence we have Velvet Cake’. Also, it was during the late 1800s that recipes would frequently call for the use of small amounts of cocoa powder for making luxury cakes, and the method used in making these Velvet Cakes combined vinegar, or buttermilk, and baking soda to get a softer and finer textured cake.
Second, the Mahogany Cake, which is technically the first American chocolate cake, and it appeared in popular cookbooks such as that of the American Dietician, Sarah Tyson Rorer, (her 1806 book was called, Mrs Rorer’s Philadelphia cook book, (Applewood Books, Bedford, Massachusetts)). Early recipes of the Mahogany Cake used White ermine frosting, or ‘flour frosting’, yet by the 1960s, Cream cheese was the norm.
Thirdly, there was a blend of the Mahogany Cake and the original Devil’s Food Cake, that was called Velvet Cocoa Cake, and this became the closest relative to the Red Velvet Cake.
However, it is the way that it is made that has led to the modern Red Velvet Cake. The successful creation of its soft, velvety texture is due to the alchemy of the ingredients (a combination of buttermilk, or vinegar, a little cocoa powder, and baking soda) that created a high rise and its unique reddish-brown colour. The natural acidity of the then made cakes was reduced to a more neutral state, and in the process, the bright red pigments (anthocyamin) in the cocoa powder were released. The result, a reddish-brown cake colour with a whisper, or hint, of chocolate. Thus, the magical properties of Mahogany and Velvet Cakes emerge.
It is on the basis of Devil’s Food Cake originally being a mild chocolate cake, the origin of ‘Velvet’ in the cake’s name, and having a base of a Mahogany Cake, that the reality of a Vanilla Devil’s Food Cake becomes possible.
Or, perhaps, should this cake be called a Vanilla Velvet Food Cake instead?
This recipe is based on a ‘chocolate’ Devel’s Food Cake suitably modified to make it a ‘vanilla’ version, and that modification is based on what was previously performed in transforming a Chocolate Devil’s Food Sheet Cake into a Vanilla Sheet Cake.
Rather than using a Cream cheese (or even a vanilla buttercream) filling and topping, this recipe goes back to using a White ermine frosting, or ‘flour frosting’: just as was used in the early recipes of the Mahogany Cake.
The recipe is gluten free, and if a Coconut milk, or Hemp milk, option is taken, it becomes dairy free too.
Note: this is a very rich cake.
Remove the filled Vanilla Devil’s Food cake from the refrigerator. Ensure that the White Ermine frosting (bowl 7 and 8) is at room temperature.
Scoop a little of the White Ermine frosting (bowl 8 only) on to the middle of the cake surface, and spread around, to evenly crumb coat the cake surface (filling in any depressions, etc, so that the surface is smooth). Allow this to set.
Scoop the rest of the White Ermine frosting (bowl 8) onto, and over, the cake’s top surface, using a thin metal spatula, spread it generously over the flat surface, starting around the outer perimeter, going right to the edge; the idea is to spread the White Ermine frosting evenly, yet with a rough, swirl-like (think of turbulent vortices and eddy currents) appearance.
Using a clean, thin metal spatula to scoop a little of the remaining White Ermine frosting (bowl 7), starting at the base of cake, spread the Ermine frosting, diagonally, up the side of the cake; repeat with the rest of the White Ermine frosting, moving around the cake perimeter. Again, the idea is to have an even layer, yet with a rough appearance. Then, merge the top and side coatings, to blend together.
When finished, place the Vanilla Devil’s Food cake back into a refrigerator, so that the White Ermine frosting may set.
If the cake is to be decorated, leave it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes before removing and then making any decoration on the Ermine frosting surface.
Allow the Vanilla Devil’s Food cake to come up to room temperature before eating.
Enjoy!!!
However, at first sight, the title, ‘Vanilla’ Devil’s Food Cake does not really compute. After all, one of the theories about how Devil’s Food Cake came about suggests that it was an opposite of, or a counter to, the existing white or yellow Angel Food Cake. Also, it was at a time when both baking chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder became readily available and affordable, and hence, suitable for making cakes. Originally it was also known as ‘Satan Cake’, and according to Stephen James Schmidt (a culinary historian), ‘it was a very dark cake - one so dark that it suggested some affiliation with the devil’.
The first known recipe for Devil’s Food Cake is believed to have been published in 1902 in the highly influential Mrs Rorer’s New Cook Book: A Manual of Housekeeping. It should be noted that the first chocolate cakes were not even very chocolatey. According to the Food historian Stephen Jones Schmidt, bakers in the mid-to-late 1800’s originally added cocoa powder to cakes only as a means to darken the cake batter.
There are other theories on its origin which are based on different names associated with the cake: Red Velvet Cake, and Red Devil’s Cake (originally, it was a mild chocolate cake that was red in colour). It is on the basis of Devil’s Food Cake originally being a mild chocolate cake, the origin of ‘Velvet’ in the cake’s name, and, historically, a Mahogany Cake, that the reality of a Vanilla Devil’s Food Cake becomes possible.
Historically, and deconstructing some of these cake titles, a case appears for the reality of a Vanilla Devil’s Food Cake.
Before making that case, it should be noted that, before the 19th Century, there was little to distinguish cake from bread, other than the fact that cakes contained richer ingredients, such as butter and eggs. Then, in terms of leavening, usually, cakes derived their lightness through whipping air into eggs, for example, as is the case in making a Génoise, and in making other sponge cakes. At that time, to chemically leaven cakes required the use of yeast. The relevance of the use of chemical leavening (rather than the use of yeast) will become clear soon.
First, dealing with the term ‘Velvet’. Bakers in the 1800s began to use almond flour, cornstarch, and a little cocoa powder to soften the protein in the flour used: to soften the heavier and more dense cakes (the traditional yellow or white cake varieties), that the early American settlers made, and this resulted in finer textured cakes. Velvet cakes first appeared during the Victorian era (1837 – 1901). Velvet cakes were so called because of the fineness of their crumb structure (texture). In his 1873 book, Dr Chase’s Family Physician, Beekeeper and Second Recipe Book, (Ann Arbor Printing and Publishing Company, Michigan) describes the newfangled Velvet Cakes: ‘There is quite a tendency of late to have nice and smooth names applied to things as well as to have nice things hence we have Velvet Cake’. Also, it was during the late 1800s that recipes would frequently call for the use of small amounts of cocoa powder for making luxury cakes, and the method used in making these Velvet Cakes combined vinegar, or buttermilk, and baking soda to get a softer and finer textured cake.
Second, the Mahogany Cake, which is technically the first American chocolate cake, and it appeared in popular cookbooks such as that of the American Dietician, Sarah Tyson Rorer, (her 1806 book was called, Mrs Rorer’s Philadelphia cook book, (Applewood Books, Bedford, Massachusetts)). Early recipes of the Mahogany Cake used White ermine frosting, or ‘flour frosting’, yet by the 1960s, Cream cheese was the norm.
Thirdly, there was a blend of the Mahogany Cake and the original Devil’s Food Cake, that was called Velvet Cocoa Cake, and this became the closest relative to the Red Velvet Cake.
However, it is the way that it is made that has led to the modern Red Velvet Cake. The successful creation of its soft, velvety texture is due to the alchemy of the ingredients (a combination of buttermilk, or vinegar, a little cocoa powder, and baking soda) that created a high rise and its unique reddish-brown colour. The natural acidity of the then made cakes was reduced to a more neutral state, and in the process, the bright red pigments (anthocyamin) in the cocoa powder were released. The result, a reddish-brown cake colour with a whisper, or hint, of chocolate. Thus, the magical properties of Mahogany and Velvet Cakes emerge.
It is on the basis of Devil’s Food Cake originally being a mild chocolate cake, the origin of ‘Velvet’ in the cake’s name, and having a base of a Mahogany Cake, that the reality of a Vanilla Devil’s Food Cake becomes possible.
Or, perhaps, should this cake be called a Vanilla Velvet Food Cake instead?
This recipe is based on a ‘chocolate’ Devel’s Food Cake suitably modified to make it a ‘vanilla’ version, and that modification is based on what was previously performed in transforming a Chocolate Devil’s Food Sheet Cake into a Vanilla Sheet Cake.
Rather than using a Cream cheese (or even a vanilla buttercream) filling and topping, this recipe goes back to using a White ermine frosting, or ‘flour frosting’: just as was used in the early recipes of the Mahogany Cake.
The recipe is gluten free, and if a Coconut milk, or Hemp milk, option is taken, it becomes dairy free too.
Note: this is a very rich cake.
Assembly 2:
Remove the filled Vanilla Devil’s Food cake from the refrigerator. Ensure that the White Ermine frosting (bowl 7 and 8) is at room temperature.
Scoop a little of the White Ermine frosting (bowl 8 only) on to the middle of the cake surface, and spread around, to evenly crumb coat the cake surface (filling in any depressions, etc, so that the surface is smooth). Allow this to set.
Scoop the rest of the White Ermine frosting (bowl 8) onto, and over, the cake’s top surface, using a thin metal spatula, spread it generously over the flat surface, starting around the outer perimeter, going right to the edge; the idea is to spread the White Ermine frosting evenly, yet with a rough, swirl-like (think of turbulent vortices and eddy currents) appearance.
Using a clean, thin metal spatula to scoop a little of the remaining White Ermine frosting (bowl 7), starting at the base of cake, spread the Ermine frosting, diagonally, up the side of the cake; repeat with the rest of the White Ermine frosting, moving around the cake perimeter. Again, the idea is to have an even layer, yet with a rough appearance. Then, merge the top and side coatings, to blend together.
When finished, place the Vanilla Devil’s Food cake back into a refrigerator, so that the White Ermine frosting may set.
If the cake is to be decorated, leave it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes before removing and then making any decoration on the Ermine frosting surface.
Allow the Vanilla Devil’s Food cake to come up to room temperature before eating.
Enjoy!!!
