Red Velvet Cake

Layers of chocolate cake are ablaze in red and iced with a satiny cream cheese frosting.

Now for a taste of Soulfully Sweet History!

Although most Southerners can easily picture this festive cake thanks to its bright red layers and creamy white frosting, its history is surprisingly hard to trace.

While we don't know where it originated, we do know where it didn't- the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The Waldorf Head Chef acknowledged that many attribute the cake to them, but there isn't a single mention of it in their archives. Some say that the cake was originally made by slaves, who historically used bits of beet sugar to enhance the color of cake batter. Others say the coloring is due to a chemical reaction of the cocoa in the batter. These days, the distinctive color comes from red food coloring.