The perfect recipe for a Juneteenth Celebration. This Red Velvet Cake is unbelievably delicious, moist and so easy to make.
Join me in celebrating Juneteenth with 18 other Black culinary creators. This year, we are honoring 19 Black American cookbook authors by recreating their recipes, amplifying their work, and sharing our connections to Freedom Day. Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day, the final emancipation of those enslaved in the US announced in 1865. Share these recipes with your family and help us continue the legacy of celebrating progress. Additionally, you can easily follow each participant by using the hashtag #JuneteenthCookout2022 on Instagram.
This collaboration is brought to you by Eat the Culture.
Red Velvet Cake has got to be one of our favorite cakes to make year round but especially on Juneteenth. Im so excited to be partnering with Eat The Culture for this year’s Juneteenth Cookout. Just as in years past, we have an amazing line up of recipes that are perfect and delicious.
This year I had the honor to be assigned Grandbaby Cakes Cookbook and I couldn’t be more thrilled. When I initially started blogging, Joycelyn was one of the few black food bloggers I was aware of. I immediately fell in love with her recipes after trying her amazing Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Pound Cake. I am so inspired by her and her work and I’m honored that I get to represent her Red Velvet Cake in this year’s Juneteenth lineup. She was actually one of the first bloggers that made me believe that I could actually turn my passion into a career. I am constantly inspired her and all she continues to accomplish.
The perfect Juneteenth Recipe
- Decadent and moist
- Loaded with Blackberry Compote
- Covered in a creamy icing
- 3 Layers
- Perfect Juneteenth Recipe
Ingredients for Red Velvet Cake
- Flour
- Sugar
- Cocoa Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Vegetable Oil
- Buttermilk
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Vanilla Extract
- Red Food Color
- Eggs
- Cream Cheese
- Blackberries
How to make
Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda together. Add in the eggs, vanilla, oil and buttermilk and food coloring. Separate the batter evenly in 3- 9inch and bake for 20-25 minutes at 325 Fahrenheit. While the cake is cooling baking, make the compote by adding the blackberries, sugar, lime juice and cornstarch. Bring to boil and cook until thickened. While both the cake and compote are baking, make the icing.
Tips
In Granbaby Cakes Cookbook, Jocelyn suggests letting the cakes firm up by placing them in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
For the blueberry compote, she suggests smashing down the berries just a bit if you don’t prefer semi-whole berries.
Why the color red for Juneteenth
The color red can be found in numerous dishes on this holiday as it represents the bloodshed and the resiliency of those that were enslaved. The color red is also associated with the cultures that would’ve come through the later years of the trade, which would have been Yoruba and Kongo. Africans brought their traditions with them, which would find itself through food and generations of Juneteenth celebrations.
Looking for more cake recipes?
Check out this Chocolate Cake Recipe or this Milk and Honey Cake.
Hungry for More Juneteenth Recipes?
Check out all the Participants in this year’s cookout.
Purple and White Potato Salad prepared by Big Delicious Life from the book Sweet Potato Soul
Jam Cake prepared by Britney Breaks Bread from the book Jubilee
Mini Red Velvet Cake by Chenée Today from the book Life Is What You Bake It
Soy Lime Beef Stir Fry by Coined Cuisine from the book Cooking Solo
Pinto Beans with Smoked Neck Bones by Cooks with Soul from the book Bludso’s Bbq Cookbook
Black Pepper Strawberry Slab Pie by Dash of Jazz from the book Watermelon and Red Birds
Buffalo Cheezy Sweet Potato Fries by Flights and Foods from the book Unbelievably Vegan
Grilled Pork Porterhouse Steaks by Food Fidelity from the book Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day
Barbecue Baked Beans with Red Spice by Geo’s Table from the book Son of a Southern Chef
Jamaican Beef Patty by Her Mise En Place from the book My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Vegetable Relish by Kenneth Temple from the book In Bibi’s Kitchen
Red Velvet Cake with Blackberry Frosting by Lenox Bakery from the book Grandbaby Cakes
Very Strawberry Shortcake by Meiko And The Dish from the book The New Orleans Cook Book
Pig-Pickin’ Cake by My Sweet Precision from the book Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking
Blackberry Peach Crumble Pie by Peaches2Peaches from the book Carla Hall’s Soul Food
African Soul Rice Salad with Crispy Collards by Savor & Sage from the book The Cooking Gene
Grape-Tarragon Spritzer by Sense and Edibility from the book Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora
All-Green Everything Salad w/ Creamy Sage Dressing by That Green Lyfe from the book Vegetable Kingdom
Rum Rum Punch by This Worthey Life from the book The Red Rooster Cookbook
Red Velvet Cake with Blackberry Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup strong coffee hot
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ounce liquid red food coloring
Blackberry Compote
- 3 cup Fresh Blackberries
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
- Pinch Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Cornstarch
Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting
- 16 oz Cream Cheese
- 3/4 cup Confectioners Sugar
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch Salt
- 1 cup Fresh Blackberries garnish
Instructions
- 1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Generously spray 3 9-inch round cake pans with the nonstick method of your choice. 2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix on low speed. Slowly add the oil and buttermilk.Increase the speed to medium-low and add the eggs 1 at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Slowly add the coffee, vanilla extract, vinegar, and food coloring. 3. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter until just combine, being sure not to overmix. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 27 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean . Allow the cakes to cool completly.
Blackberry Compote
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the blackberries, granulated sugar, lime juice, and salt. Boil for 8 to 12 minutes then use a fork to mash 1/2 of the berries. Leave the rest whole. Stir in the cornstarch and continue to cook at a boil, allowing the juices to cook down and thicken. Compote should cover the back of a spoon, that's how you'll know it's ready.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese on high speed until it begins to thicken and become fluffy. Slowly add in confections sugar. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, turn your mixer speed back up and add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue to whip until the frosting is smooth, light, and fluffy. Refrigerate the buttercream for 30 minutes to firm it up.
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