Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake

This is a dense, old school Red Velvet Cake with fluffy cooked vanilla frosting.

homemade Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake slice on a plate in front of the cake on a stand


Old fashioned red velvet cake

This an old-style dense red velvet cake recipe. A rich chocolately cake is layered and topped with a fluffy vanilla-flavored frosting. If you need a cake for a special occasion – a birthday, Valentine’s Day, or a holiday – this red velvet cake recipe is for you. This cake is a rich blend of eggs, shortening, buttermilk, cocoa, flour, sugar, and vanilla made more colorful with red food coloring.

The cooked frosting is an equally rich blend of shortening, flour, milk, butter, sugar, and vanilla. It is so much better than cream cheese frosting, which pales in comparison to the cooked frosting the Waldorf uses. I prefer cream cheese frosting on carrot cake.

    Ingredients

    Here’s a list of what you need for the cake and frosting:

    • Shortening
    • Eggs
    • Red food coloring
    • Buttermilk
    • Milk
    • Butter
    • Vinegar
    • Baking soda
    • Sugar
    • Cocoa powder
    • All-purpose flour
    • Salt
    • Vanilla extract
    Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake ingredients

    How to Make Red Velvet Cake with Cooked Frosting

    1. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring.
    2. Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add cocoa and food coloring mixture and mix well.
    3. Add buttermilk with vinegar and flour with salt alternately.
    4. By hand, fold in vanilla and baking soda.
    Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake batter in a mixing bowl
    1. Pour batter evenly into three greased and floured cake pans.
    2. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
    3. Remove the cake layers from the pans and cool completely.
    4. Cook flour and milk until thick.
    5. Beat shortening, butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
    Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake frosting in a mixing bowl
    1. Add milk and flour mixture a little at a time and beat well.
    2. Spread frosting on the cake, between each layer and on the sides.
    a slice of homemade Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake on a plate

    How did red velvet cakes first come about?

    In the Victorian age, bakers learned how to soften the proteins in flour. They used ingredients such as cornstarch, cocoa, or almond flour, resulting in a smoother, more refined texture than other cakes. These softer cakes were called velvet cakes.

    The red color of velvet cakes did not come initially from food dyes. That’s because the original color was produced by a chemical reaction between cocoa powder, vinegar, and baking soda. At one time, the red color was much brighter because cocoa powder once contained anthocyanins, pigments responsible for the red colors found in foods like red cabbage and raspberries. 

    Today’s cocoa powder contains an alkalizing agent to neutralize acidity, affecting its color-changing properties. That’s why we have to fancy up our red velvet cake with a little extra makeup these days and add food dye to give it that extra pop. 

    The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City claims that it is the red velvet cake’s birthplace, and indeed this red Waldorf cake has been a popular menu item there since the 1950s. However, historians argue that the red velvet cake originated in the southern US.

    Copycat waldorf astoria red velvet cake slice on a plate and the cake behind it.

    Favorite Cake Recipes

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    homemade Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake slice on a plate in front of the cake on a stand

    Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake

    Make the well-known Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake at home.  No cake mix needed. 
    4.94 from 15 votes
    Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Cake Recipes, Red Velvet, Red Velvet Cake
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 384kcal

    Ingredients

    Cake ingredients

    • 1/2 cup shortening
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 ounces red food coloring
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 1 tablespoon vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 1/2 cups sugar
    • 3 tablespoons cocoa
    • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Frosting ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup milk
    • 1/2 cup shortening
    • 1/2 cup butter
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Instructions

    Cake Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • Grease and flour 3 cake pans.
    • Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring.
    • Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add cocoa and food coloring mixture. Mix well.
    • Add buttermilk with vinegar and flour with salt alternately.
    • By hand, fold in vanilla and baking soda.
    • Pour batter equally into cake pans.
    • Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    • Remove cake layers from pans and cool completely.

    Frosting Instructions

    • Cook flour and milk until thick.
    • Beat shortening, margarine, sugar, vanilla until creamy.
    • Add milk and flour mixture a little at a time and beat well. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 81mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1.1mg

    About Stephanie Manley

    I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

    Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cindy B

      5 stars
      My mom used to make this one for my birthday because it was the day after Valentine’s Day. Her recipe came from one of my aunts who got it from a hotel chef. It doesn’t have cocoa powder in it, and the frosting was Ermine frosting. I make this cake for Christmas as well. Only one layer is red, and the second layer is green with white ermine frosting. The batter is divided, and the food coloring is added at the end of the mix before baking. It’s pretty gorgeous.

    2. Pamela Clifton

      5 stars
      I have had this recipe for almost 50 yrs from my new mother in-law. Everything is correct except the flour,milk,buttersugar and vanilla is the FILLING between layers. Then the frosting is a “7 Minute Icing” recipe using egg whites and Karo.

    3. Donna Duke

      5 stars
      This is the recipe my mom always used. It is my favorite & I always requested she make it for my birthday. I’m making her recipes now. She’s almost 90 and she enjoys the cakes I bake using her recipes plus others I create 🙂

    4. Leeah

      My mom and grandma always made this for me for my birthday, but used green food coloring since my birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day! I am making this now, but cannot remember if it needs to be refrigerated because of the milk in the frosting.

    5. Melissa Sage

      5 stars
      Because my birthday is on Valentine’s Day my mother made this cake for me every year. She even managed to send it to me when I was in boarding school in the sixties. So happy to find this recipé as I have lost her’s. Thank you.

    4.94 from 15 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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