Last week at Wal-Mart, I found a cake mix on an end-cap at the checkout line. Never one to give in to impulse buys, I… well… gave in to an impulse buy.
It’s a complete cake-and-frosting kit called Mam Papaul’s Red Velvet Cake, and it’s made by a company called Louisiana Gourmet Enterprises who also makes all sorts of other New Orleans-type mixes including gumbo, dirty rice, and corn soup. The also make other cake mixes including Mardi Gras King Cake.
I remembered the urban legend about the Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake, so I figured I would give this a shot.

This is what the cake batter looks like once you’ve added three eggs, water, and vegetable oil. Interestingly enough, this was almost the identical color of the primer I used on my kitchen wall when I painted it last summer.

You’re supposed to beat the batter for a long time– 7 or 8 minutes– which seems longer than most cake mixes I’ve dealt with. I had to be careful with this stuff– I’m sure it would stain if it got on anything.

…and fresh from the oven, there they are. Pay close attention to that glass bowl in the background– something’s going to be happening there.

Check out this icing: that’s the mix that came in the box (which seemed to be mostly sugar and corn starch) along with a cup of milk, a stick and a half of margarine, a half-cup of shortening, and 8 ounces of cream cheese. While mixing up this concoction, Lisa referred to it as a “heart attack in a bowl.”

Now out of their pans, the layers are cooling off. They seem to be much denser and took on a much spongier consistency than your typical Betty Crocker cake. Lisa sliced the layers horizontally for an even more professional touch. She wanted to use dental floss to do this, but the only kind I had was mint-waxed, and that would have probably changed the taste a bit. 🙂

The finished product. Lisa sprinkled cinnamon on top to add a little holiday color to the presentation.

Yum. When you put something this color in your mouth you (well, *I*, at least) expect it to taste like an Atomic Fireball or, at the very least, somewhat cinnamon-y. Nope: the Red Velvet cake is a nicely dense chocolate cake. Note that the bottom layer got lost by the serving fork as that first slice was removed. Moments after this photo was taken, it was restored.
So it’s thumbs-up on the Mam Papaul’s Red Velvet Cake. The also make Lemon Velvet and Black Velvet cake mixes, so I may try one of those in the future.