This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Electrolux.

The matriarchs of my family have been making their version of Red Velvet Cake for at least the past 50 years.  My grandmother made it - passing the recipe (and addiction to the flavor) to my mother, who then made the mistake of making it for my birthday and therefore committing herself to a lifetime of cake-baking for me.  Now my kids have tasted the heaven that is our family’s Red Velvet cake, and they want it too.  Not just for birthdays anymore, it’s been requested for breakfast, snack time, or in place of green beans.  (I’ve never given in on that front, just FYI)

I don’t know where the recipe came from originally - I’ve heard rumors that it came from the Waldorf Astoria?  I checked online and the recipe is different, so our family may have bastardized it throughout the years with what I can say are delicious results. 

I have intense, mouth-watering memories of standing in my mother’s kitchen while she complained her hand was going to fall off (the frosting needs to be beaten for 15 minutes).  The final product was always delicious, if not beautiful (we could never get the layers to line up just so, and the frosting is delicious but not easy to shape like a fondant). 

The Red Velvet cake has been used for birthdays, funerals, housewarmings, comfort foods for girlfriends suffering breakups or divorces, celebrations of new babies, and face-stuffing on cold winter nights.  It has a taste that reminds me of many past birthdays, family gatherings and familiarity.  The bowl of frosting remnants is worth every single lick-to-pound-gained proportion. 

When BlogHer approached me about sharing a family recipe or cake memory, I was excited.  I was even more excited when I found out about Kelly’s Cakery.  Kelly Ripa is a self-proclaimed baking enthusiast.  She has teamed up with Electrolux on a virtual campaign to help Americans make a difference in Ovarian cancer research.  Kelly has created a way to raise money for a cause close to her heart:  the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF).

Ovarian cancer research is also a cause close to my heart.  A close friend’s mother was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer a few years back.  Thankfully it was caught early - quite randomly, during another surgery - and she is a healthy vibrant person today, able to enjoy her new grandson.  I remember my reaction when my friend told me about it.  It was an embarrassing one:  I burst into tears in the middle of a busy restaurant.  For me, a diagnosis of Ovarian cancer was a death sentence.  All of those I’d known before her mother with that diagnosis were casualties of the diagnosis.  Thankfully her mother beat the odds and early detection, accidentally or not, saved her life.  It truly is a silent killer and any money that I can help raise or send in the direction of the OCRF is literally just the icing on the cake. 

If you’re ready to start virtually baking (best of all, no beating the icing for 15 minutes!), visit Kelly’s Cakery at http://www.Kelly-Confidential.com to decorate and send a special virtual cake to a friend, family member or loved one.  To sweeten the deal, Electrolux is donating $100 to OCRF for every new range sold this month.  For every virtual cake baked, Electrolux will also donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.  If the donation is not enough to tempt you, you will also be entered to win a Induction Range from Electrolux. I had no idea what an “induction” range was - I used to feel special just knowing what a convection oven was.  A little bit of research and here I am, educated about induction ranges.  Induction is perfect for melting chocolate and cooking delicate foods and sauces.  It’s also more responsive than gas and eco-friendly too. You might be lucky and win one!

Ready to send a virtual cake to your friends and loved ones?  Start your ovens here: Kelly’s Cakery website

Want to see what else is cookin’ on the review and giveaways page at BlogHer.com?  Interested in reading other blogger’s cake memories?  Check out the other sponsored cake stories.  BlogHer.com special offers page” title=“All you have to do is click . . .”>All you have to do is click . . .

A final note:  if you are interested in baking my family’s Red Velvet recipe, here’s the recipe.  My opinion is that the frosting is the best part of the recipe and quite possibly the best frosting ever, so if you’re planning to shortcut and use premade frosting, know that I will be silently shaking a virtual finger at you and frowning. 

Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Frosting

1 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa
2 1/2 cups sifted flour (I use Swan’s Down cake flour)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups baking soda
2 (1 oz each) red food coloring bottles
1 cup buttermilk

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs until fluffy.  Make a paste of coloring and cocoa and blend with creamed mixture.  Sift flour with salt.  Add to mixture alternately with buttermilk.  Blend in vanilla.  Mix vinegar and soda in a cup; add to batter but don’t beat too briskly.  Turn into two 9” greased and floured cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  When finished baking, turn cakes out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Vanilla Frosting:

5 tbsp flour
1 cup milk (at least 2%)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blend flour with milk and cook over low heat until smooth and thick.  Set aside to cool.  Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy (15 minutes) with mixer.  Add cooled mixture a little bit at a time.  Continue beating until it is the consistency of whipped cream.