This one is my absolute favorite! Everyone loves it. It's from Annie's Eats.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Yield: about 24 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
To finish:
Cream cheese frosting
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350ð F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Velvet

Mine is very similar - but I use all purpose flour. Just made it last week! It works well in a 9x13, two 8x8's, or cupcakes (makes about 30)

I use the traditional frosting. I cringe whenever I hear "cream cheese frosting" on it. That just ISN'T right! LOL The tradtional frosting for a Red Velvet cake is a cooked roux frosting. It takes a little work, but is SO good, and not so overly sweet.

Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

**Mix the following together and fold into the batter***
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients, except vinegar, and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.Place all the dry ingredients, except baking soda, in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk. I always sift my cocoa, because it has lumps that just don't come out. Just shake it through a mesh strainer to get out the lumps.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.Pour into cake pans and then tap the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake, but with the oil in the cake - it will be very moist.

Cooked Roux Frosting
5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Cook flour and milk together over medium heat - whisking constantly (gently). When it is cooked to a very thick consistency, remove from heat. Stir a few more times and put it in a bowl to cool. Cover the top of the roux with plastic wrap so it doesn't form a skin. Cool completely to room temp.

Cream the butter and sugar (GRANULATED - not powdered!) until there is no graininess left. Then add the flour mixture and vanilla and beat until it resembles whipped cream. This will take a while. If you have a kitchenaid with a whisk attachment - it is a much easier job. If it looks curdled -keep beating it.

I have attached the link to Pioneer Womans blog - she love the frosting too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman's method for THE BEST frosting ever!

I usually only put one bottle of the red food color in. It calls for two, but I put one bottle of red color and then I fill the bottle with water and add that.

These are the 1 ounce bottle with a cap - not the little squeeze drop bottles that come 4 to a box.

I agree with Iowagirl on the frosting. I make the cooked, butter frosting too. That is how I first had the cake many years ago, when I was a teenager, and that is how I like it today. I used to make this cake for my friend's daughter's birthday every year, but I made it green because that was her school colors.

couple of questions here... I saw red velvet cupcakes made from beets on tv and that sounded good to me. I am very wary of so much food coloring in it. Has anyone tried a beet version? Is it awful or is it pretty good, considering beets look like the'd impart a sweet flavor and moisture? Just if you've ever done it.

:)

Here is a link that might be useful: like this (I'm not crazy. Well, not totally crazy)

Check this out: red velvet poke cake

Here is a link that might be useful: red velvet poke cake

I have a excellent recipe, I've made it many times.

Here is a link that might be useful: #1 red velvet cake

I agree, cream cheese frosting is just plain wrong for this cake and it is NOT the traditional frosting for it.

I have a cookbook from the 1940's with the recipe for the cake and cooked roux frosting. It is called Waldorf Astoria cake in it.

Read the wikipedia entry below for more information

Here is a link that might be useful: Waldorf Astoria, Mahogany, or Red Velvet cake

It might not be traditional but I personally prefer the cream cheese frosting on red velvet. I have a little baking business and those are by far one of the most popular. :)

It's hard to go wrong with cream cheese frosting (carrot cake anyone?) Mmmmm...

But I will stand by the traditional frosting on the Red Velvet. Anyone who has ever had it, after having the cream cheese on it is says - Oh..yes!

But - it is not an easy frosting to make, and it doesn't have the hardiness of cream cheese frosting. It needs to be kept cool. If it gets too warm, it will slide right off! LOL!!!

It's not great for piping either. You can, but it just doesn't have the body of some other frosting's.

There was a bakery on this side of Houston that used to make this cake....with the butter frosting. My best friend in high school had it for her birthday cake every year....and that is where I ate it the first time. I have had it with cream cheese frosting, but to me, it is the cooked butter frosting all the way....and I wouldn't suggest using butter flavored Crisco to make it either. I had some made with that, and it was horrible!!

We have always called the type of icing for Red Velvet Cake White Icing. Here is the recipe I have used for years with notes of some of the additions I have made to the frosting at one time or another. This icing is very easy to make.

White Icing

In a saucepan mix well 1/2 cup milk and 3 tablespoons flour. Cook, stirring constantluy, until mixture becomes paste-like. Chill in refrigerator.

When ready to prepare icing, blend 1/2 cup margarine, 1/2 cup Crisco, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. When well blended, add the chilled mixture. Beat about
ten minutes until well blended again. Add vanilla and beat for another 5 minutes.

Spread on cake.

Note: Additions I have made from time to time depending on what I wanted. Really the additions are limitless.

-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
-2 t cocoa

The espresso powder sounds very interesting, especially if it was on a chocolate cake! MMmmm...

I will stick with my real butta! :) The Crisco one would probably be a better "decorative" type though - it would hold up better to piping, etc.

I like using 1/2 butter and 1/2 Crisco in my cookie recipes. Some cookies I use 1/2 stick margarine and 1/3 butter crisco. I like soft cookies, not crunchy ones.