Mama's Red Velvet Cake with Ermine Frosting

A tried-and-true family recipe with classic Ermine Frosting, the original cooked flour buttercream frosting, traditional to heirloom Southern Red Velvet cakes.

We went over to Mama and Daddy’s for supper yesterday and when I walked through to door there sat the layers for a red velvet cake cooling on racks.

awwwwwwww yeeeaaahhhhhh…

Mama was already cooking ribs, greasy rice and sweet potatoes and now there’s going to be red velvet cake too??

Praise the Lord!

A lot of people associate red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting – and since I never met a cream cheese frosting I didn’t like, that’s A-OK with me – but our old fashioned family recipe for red velvet cake uses what some folks call a ‘cooked frosting’ or ‘boiled icing’.

And I love it.

You boil flour, sugar and milk together to make the base, let it cool, then mix it with butter to make a butter cream that will blow your mind!

It’s very stable and doesn’t have to be refrigerated (though, you can if you want). It also stands up to humidity and fluctuating temperatures like we’re prone to here in the South.

I’ve eaten a lot of red velvet cake in my day but I have to tell you, this recipe is, hands-down, my favorite. The cake is super moist and, well, velvety. And the icing reminds you of something your grandma would have made.

If you’re looking for a true, authentic, Southern red velvet cake recipe, this cake is what you’re looking for!

Side note: I wish I'd gotten better pictures. We were running out of daylight and I didn't take the time and care to prep and stage things right to get the best photos.

PS... pictures of cakes and pies are THE HARDEST types of food photos to take! In case you ever wondered ;)

But as you can see here, Angel Baby was a HUGE help!

Mama's Red Velvet Cake with Ermine Frosting

Yield: 12 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 35 MinInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 H & 5 M

A tried-and-true family recipe with classic Ermine Frosting, the original cooked flour buttercream frosting, traditional to heirloom Southern Red Velvet cakes.

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake:

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1-oz. bottle red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Ermine Frosting (Cooked Buttercream):

• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Red Velvet Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy and smooth (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. 1/2 C butter, 1.5 C sugar, 2 eggs
3. Meanwhile, mix cocoa powder, food coloring, vanilla extract and salt together in a small bowl to make a thin paste; add to butter mixture then mix until well combined. 2 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 oz food color, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp salt
4. Starting and ending with flour, gradually add flour alternately with buttermilk to butter mixture until well combined. 2.25 C cake flour, 1 C buttermilk
5. Mix baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam - that's OK!) then fold into batter by hand until well combined. 1.5 tsp baking soda, 1 Tbsp vinegar
6. Pour batter into prepared pans then bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Cool completely then frost with Ermine Frosting (Cooked Buttercream).
7. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Ermine Frosting (Cooked Buttercream):

1. Add flour, sugar and salt to a small saucepan then whisk to break up any lumps. Whisk in milk then heat and stir over medium-high heat until mixture just starts to bubble. 5 Tbsp flour, 1 C sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 C milk
2. Reduce heat to medium-low then cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened (about the consistency of pudding). Remove from heat then stir in vanilla. Cool completely, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on top. 1 tsp vanilla
3. Once the cooked flour mixture is COMPLETELY COOL (no warmer than 70 degrees), move on to the next step.
4. Whip butter with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). 1 C butter
5. Gradually add cooled flour mixture, 2 heaping tablespoons at a time, mixing at medium speed until fully incorporated before adding more.
6. Continue mixing until creamy, well combined and spreadable.

Notes

• Cake flour is best for a soft, tender cake but regular AP flour works in a pinch.
• Any flour will work with the frosting.
• Use real, salted butter in this and all my recipes.
• The cakes and flour mixture for frosting MUST BE COMPLETLEY COOL before making frosting or icing the cakes.
• The butter for the frosting needs to be at room temperature but not too soft. You want to be able to easily put your finger in it, but also still be able to pick it up - when you can do both of those things, it's the perfect temperature. 
• For brighter, whiter frosting, use clear vanilla extract. I've heard you can add a speck of violet food coloring (like from the tip of a toothpick) to balance the yellow from the butter but I never have any issues. Higher fat, European butter is usually darker and more yellow so stick with the store brand like I do and you should be good to go ;-)
• I have better results using a hand-held mixer to make the frosting. The giant whisk of the stand-mixer can deposit sizeable air bubbles and the paddle attachment doesn't aerate it enough. If using a stand-mixer, use the whisk attachment then stir with a rubber spatula to smooth out any large air pockets.
• If the frosting seems too thin, the ingredients are too warm. Let it cool more then mix again. 
• If the frosting seems curdled, the butter is likely too cool. Just keep mixing and it will eventually smooth out. 
• Yes, I have heard red food coloring is the devil and anyone feeding it to their kids should be drawn and quartered. If you don't want to use it, you should probably not try to make red velvet cake. 

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2016/02/mamas-red-velvet-cake.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2016

red velvet, southern, classic, heirloom, best, original, old fashioned, ermine, boiled milk, cooked, buttercream, frosting, icing

dessert

southern