Red Velvet holds a special place in my heart. It’s the cake my husband loves for his birthday. The first time I made it I used the recipe from his Mother, hand written in flowing black letters on a note card. The cake was bright red and moist and the frosting was rich and tangy but I couldn’t get over how much food coloring was in the cake. Two tablespoons of red dye – that’s 1 ounce or a shot of red food coloring! Or to give you a better visual, two entire viles from the food coloring box. I was almost terrified to taste the cake after putting that much dye in it. I have a reason to be fearful, there is a red dye incident from my past. When I was a little sprout it was a treat if I got to stay overnight with my aunt and grandparents in Chicago and play with my cousin for a weekend. My cousin and I were indulged by my aunt and grandma. We’d wake up and have bacon, potatoes fried in leftover bacon grease and eggs. My grandma would serve us toast with the butter and jelly premixed together so the ratio of fat to sugar was even. It was rich and delicious! Then my aunt would take us to bowl or to an arcade and then we’d get a treat. On one occasion I was allowed to eat as many donuts as my 6 year old heart desired. This was mind blowing for little me because my parents didn’t keep anything sweet in the house. Nothing! The sweetest thing you could find was Cheerios and ya’ll know that isn’t sweet. I was attracted to the blingyest of donuts, the frosted reddish pink ones with the colorful sprinkles. I took bite after bite of sugary, doughy bliss until my little body rebelled on me (it was probably two donuts). It was a reddish pink puke fest after that. Of course my aunt felt horrible and my parents told me I was probably allergic to the red dye. I remember the tears rolling down my cheeks in sadness because my stomach was cramping and the news of my red food dye allergy sounded like the end of the world.
I was lucky I didn’t have another red dye incident but I grew up wary of the color. Recently I found a new product that will let me use red dye with wild abandon, ColorKitchen decorative food color from nature. The ColorKitchen red coloring is derived from beet and turmeric so it’s safe and totally natural. It almost sounds too good to be true so I had to try it in a recipe. I didn’t feel like making an entire cake but since it was snowing outside I thought a nice warm cup of Red Velvet Hot Chocolate would be perfect. Check out my recipe and photos so you can see the bright, natural, velvety red color.
Red Velvet Hot Chocolate Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk (or unsweetened almond milk)
2 ⅕ oz premium white chocolate
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 red packet from ColorKitchen
Whipped cream for garnish
Sprinkles for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Add milk (or almond milk) and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from heat and whisk in white chocolate. Stir in vanilla and the red color powder. If you want a garnish, add whipped cream and some sprinkles. Serves one.
If you want to make this into an adult treat add a shot of Godiva White Chocolate Liquer, Bailey’s, Kahlua or Frangelico.
NOTE: ColorKitchen is available online or in store at Whole Foods and Natural Grocers, visit ColorKitchen for a full list of store locations.
