We celebrated my 35th birthday yesterday by decorating our tree and house, eating homemade ravioli and having Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Red Velvet Cake for dessert. There’s something spectacular about the Red Velvet Cake. Whenever I’ve been to a party, and little gourmet red velvet cupcakes are served, the response to these little delights always involves some oohs and aahs. How DID those little cakes get red? What IS it about that frosting that is so addictive? I’ve always loved the red velvet cake (and cupcakes), and thought this would be the perfect dessert to make.
Old cookbooks say the cake’s vibrant color comes from the natural red tint created by mixing vinegar, buttermilk and cocoa powder. Most recipes call for additional red coloring to truly bring out the cake’s bright color. I’ve played around around with the amount of food coloring needed, and find that it really is a personal preference (as evidenced by my family). Use anywhere from 2-3 tablespoons red food coloring to achieve the level of redness you desire.
Red velvet cake is traditionally served with cream cheese frosting, and I think there is no substitute. I’ve also eaten some cakes with regular buttercream, but there is something about the cream cheese frosting that really takes the cake (pun intended!). And don’t be fooled into thinking this is a “chocolate” cake, even though it does have a hint of chocolate flavor. The cocoa’s main function is to react with the vinegar to help produce that wonderful red color.
I made this cake as a 13 x 9 sheet cake (my favorite type of birthday cake), but you could certainly vary the recipe by making 24 red velvet cupcakes, or about 48 mini cupcakes. Just line your 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool completely and frost with my dairy, egg and nut free cream cheese frosting.
Enjoy and Happy Baking!
DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE RED VELVET CAKE
1 1/2 sticks dairy free margarine (I use Fleischman’s UNSALTED)
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. dairy free buttermilk (1 c. soy or rice milk mixed with 1 T. vinegar, let sit for 5-10 minutes)
1/2 c. silken tofu
1 T. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 T. red food coloring
2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 T. cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s)
Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Cream Cheese Frosting (below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13 x 9 glass pyrex baking sheet with dairy free baking spray. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the dairy free margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. In a large glass measuring cup mix together “buttermilk”, silken tofu, vinegar, vanilla and red food coloring with a wire whisk until combined. Add to margarine mixture and beat on low until thoroughly incorporated.
In a medium seperate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder with a wire wisk. Add to margarine and “buttermilk” mixture and stir on low until slightly combined, scrape down sides and turn mixer on medium high. Beat for about two minutes, making sure the red food coloring is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack and frosting with Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Cream Cheese Frosting. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.
DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Yield: 2 cups
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine
3/4 cup dairy-free cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the margarine, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, and mix on low for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium, and beat 4 to 6 minutes, until light and fluffy. Chill before using.
Happy Birthday!!
Happy Birthday! Welcome to 35!
happy birthday! i follow your blog b/c i have two muti-food allergic children and it’s nice to read about other’s experiences and get recipe ideas. (i am not really a cook, so this experience has been hard for me) your red velvet cake sounds wonderful but i was wondering if there was something i could substitute the silken tofu with? one of my little ones is allergic to soybean. they both have cow milk, wheat, eggs, and peanut allergies as well. i was also wondering about your cookbook. are there recipes that i could use having those allergies to deal with? i’m not good with knowing what works as substitutes for “regular” ingredients. thanks for all you’re doing! i really appreciate it.
Happy Birthday Kelly!
Happy Birthday!!
Was the ravioli egg free? I’ve been looking for a homemade pasta that my kids can eat!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday you have really improved our lives
YUM YUM YUM!!! Oh my…this looks so terrific! Thanks for sharing the recipe -I can’t wait to give this a try
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy birthday Kelly! We celebrated the first snow of the season with “First Snow Snickerdoodles.” I used your recipe and they are delicious…thanks so much!
Happy Birthday! Do you have a recipe for the homemade ravioli? I have yet to find that EVER dairy free.
Thank you! Kaisa
Thank you EVERYONE for your very sweet birthday wishes and kind words. I can’t wait for ya’ll to give it a try. We finished off the cake last night! For those of you who emailed and asked about an egg free ravioli…the little batch was made special for me by my mother in law, who makes these homemade raviolis every year for the December birthdays in the family. I made her Grandpa Lovisetto’s old Bolognese Sauce to go with it, and the kids had the sauce over plain pasta. These ravioli don’t have dairy, but they DO have egg (in the dough). Sorry I couldn’t help with a recipe!!
This is a GREAT snickerdoodle recipe!! Everyone raves about it and doesn’t ever suspect it is allergen free. Thanks for writing!
Made it today! My little one with FA loved it and so did everyone else!!
Happy Birthday, Kelly!
Happy birthday, Kelly! What brand of dairy-free cream cheese do you use? I’ve had trouble trusting Tofutti due to recalls on their Cuties.
Laura, I use Tofutti. I researched the Cutie/Tofutti recall extensively when I was writing my book. The recalls were ONLY for the cuties, and there was no chance of cross contamination based on the evidence I was able to find.
So glad you loved it!!!
Hope you had a wonderful birthday Kelly – welcome to the other side of 30!
Thanks so much Carla!! It feels good to be on the other side of 30!!
Happy birthday, Kelly!
Totally of topic, but I’m enjoying baking my way through your book. I love all the cranberry recipes! Cranberries are one of those fruits that I feel like I should do something with, but never know what to do. Now I know!
Happy Belated Birthday Kelly! Sounds like it was a delicious one! The world is a better place with you in it! Especially the world of food allergy moms! May your 35th year be all that you wish! Cheers!
We can’t have the dairy-free cream cheese due to soy allergies, so we can’t make our own frosting. We use the Pillsbury brand cream cheese frosting instead. It is dairy-free, believe it or not! The Pillsbury frosting does contain soy lecithin, but we’re able to tolerate that. I’m not sure about their manufacturing practices; they do make one frosting with pecans in it, so you’d probably have to call to double check.
[...] From The Food Allergy Mama [...]
Hi, this recipe sounds great. Only problem is my son also has a wheat allergy. So I was wondering if you may know what the equivelient of rice, sorghum, or soy flour would be to the unbleached all purpose flour you used. Thank you, Janie
Thanks for your comment Janie. Many people on here have shared some fabulous gluten free all purpose mixes…that are interchangeable with the wheat in my recipes. Anyone else want to share their wheat free experiences?
Kelly, I’d like to make this cake in a round pan. I am trying to make a round birthday cake. I am not sure what size to use. Typically I use the spring form pans but which one would you recommend and how long should I leave it in the oven?
This cake sounds awesome. I am not sure what silken tofu is. Can you tell me where to get silken tofu? What brand do you normal use? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
MarieC..I love to use Nasoya Silken Tofu. It is usually found in the refrigerated section of the produce department. It most definitely is at Whole Foods. In some of my cake recipes, silken tofu works as an excellent egg replacer and gives the proper density to the final result. Good Luck!!
This cake has been on my “to-bake” list since I saw it posted in Dec. I grew up on my cousin’s Red Velvet cake but it’s now off limits with my dairy/egg allergies. I planned to make this as a Valentine’s day dessert but couldn’t wait any longer. I baked 24 cupcackes this afternoon – so delicious! I can’t believe I can enjoy Red Velvet cake again. My allergy-free husband loved them, too. He took a dozen with him to class this evening to share. Thanks for another great recipe!