My all time childhood and adult favorite Red Velvet Cake was calling my name... but of course not the bleached white flour and full of sugar version of my childhood! Our family has been making this cake for almost 40 years now and I've been trying to find the perfect 'healthier' version that is sugar free and uses almond flour - but still has the texture, taste and moisture content of the original.
Today's testing was... awesome! I can't describe nor do the photos show just how moist this version is! The taste is so close to the original wheaty/sugary version but without any of those products and no guilt. Today's tweak went directly onto a note card and into my recipe files.
Some important notes to myself (and to my readers). When baking and cooking low carb, the exact brand and product used is so very, very important. A different brand of sweetener, a different whey protein powder? Can make a completely different finished product. I will list exactly what I used, but everyone needs to use what they can find in their part of the world, or what they can order online. I order many products online because I can't find them locally. I will list them at the very end of the post.
This version does use a little bit of wheat flour in it - albeit organic, non-gmo wheat that I ground myself. But I have posted a no wheat version previously that is really good if you cannot have any wheat products. Just do a search in the sidebar on the right for sugar free red velvet and you'll see it.
Red Velvet Cake - Sugar Free
1 c butter
1 1/2 sweetener to equal sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c unblanched almond flour
1/3 c unflavored whey protein powder
1/2 c soft white wheat flour
1 t xanthan gum
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
2 t cocoa
1 t salt
1 bottle (1 oz) red food color
1 T vinegar
1 t vanilla
1 c almond milk or coconut milk with part heavy cream and 1 1/2 t lemon juice to sour it (let set 5 minutes)
In a small bowl place the almond/coconut milk and/or cream with the lemon juice and let set while you mix the rest. In place of this you can use buttermilk - but I never keep buttermilk on hand so I usually end up making my own this way.
Cream the butter and sweeteners in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs. Beat well. In a large bowl, place the dry ingredients: almond flour, whey protein powder, white wheat flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt.
To the buttermilk or soured milk mixture, add the bottle of red food color, vinegar and vanilla.
Alternate adding the dry mix and the milk mixture to the butter, mixing well after each addition. Pour into 2 greased and lined round cake pans. Bake at 350 approximately 25 minutes or until done in the center. Let cool in pans about 10 minutes and turn out to cool completely.
Make your filling. Place about a cup or so between the layers and use the rest to ice the cake. Chill until serving.
Icing/Filling - this is the traditional frosting using flour (I grind my own soft white non-gmo wheat berries). You can use your favorite sugar free and low carb icing if you wish (and I have a few great ones if you use the search feature to the right, in the sidebar).
3 T soft white wheat flour
1 c almond or coconut milk
1 c sugar substitute
1 c butter
1 t vanilla
Mix the milk and flour smooth and heat on the stove top over medium until it forms a thick paste. Remove from heat, let cool. Cream the butter, sweeteners and vanilla in a mixing bowl and add the cooled flour/milk mixture to this. Whip until smooth.
