The Many Ways to Use Red Velvet For Valentine’s Day

February 6, 2015

My husband loves red velvet cake, I do not. Which means I don’t make it. But for this Valentine’s Day, I wanted to at least attempt to make the cake. From what I have heard and read, it is so easy to mess up this recipe. Because of the strong cocoa taste, the cake can tend to taste dry even if it isn’t. And the red food coloring (or beet juice) is such a mess.

Not wanting to do the traditional cake, I went searching for other red velvet recipes. BuzzFeed has 27 different red velvet recipes that can be found here. I chose the Red Velvet Macaroons from Delectable Deliciousness.

Red Velvet Valentine Macarons

for the TPT (tant pour tant)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cups aged egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder red food coloring (I used a gel coloring)

Directions:

1. Sift together the almond flour and confectioner’s sugar.
2. Mix in the egg whites to create the “mass” (mixture will be very thick).
3. Add in your desired amount of red food coloring and mix well.

for the Italian meringue

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cups water
• 1/2 cups aged egg whites

Directions:

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil until it reaches 239F on a candy thermometer.
2. Start whipping your egg whites in a stand mixer to soft peaks once your sugar/water mixture reaches 239F.
3. Continue boiling your sugar/water mixture while simultaneously whipping your egg whites. Once the sugar/water mixture reaches 245F, remove from the stove and let bubbles settle.
4. Turn your mixer to low-medium speed and slowly pour in your sugar syrup mixture while continuing to beat the whites. Beat until you get soft peaks that gently fold over when you turn the whisk upside down.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Fold in 1/4 of your meringue mixture into the TPT “mass” to lighten the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining meringue until the mixture “flows like magma”.
7. Transfer to two pastry bags with a plain tip and pipe shells. It may be easiest to do a V shape.
8. Allow for shells to dry at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (I almost always wait 1 hour) then bake at 350F for 12-20 minutes (depending on your oven).

Cinnamon Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together.
2. Add the milk and cream and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. (recipe states “about 20 minutes” but my mixture thickened in under 10) Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high, using the paddle attachment, until cool.
3. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the butter, piece by piece, beating until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Add the vanilla and cinnamon.
5. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy. If frosting is too soft, chill in the refrigerator and then beat again until proper consistency.

These were a lot of work! Perhaps next Valentine’s Day he will just get a red velvet cake!

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