I moved into my house about 7 years ago. I love the area - the trees lining the street, the park across the road, the family atmosphere. But a little secret gem, which many people new to the area don't know about is the local school fete. Before I even moved in, the Fete Queen (also known as my mother) raved about it, especially the jams, chutneys and sweets. One store she neglected to mention was the cake store.
I agreed to go with Mum a few months after moving in. I was pretty impressed. There were rides, stores, second hand stuff, but what I was really excited about was the cake store. It seemed like hundreds of cakes of various flavours and styles, all super cheap. I was sold, best fete ever.
When my son was enrolled and accepted into the school, I desperately wanted to be involved in the cake store. When I say desperately, I didn't actually go to any Parent & Friends Meetings or actively search out any information... I just waited to see when the newsletter started mentioning the fete or someone emailed. The request for help came and I responded with a little too much confidence. I wanted them to know I was there to help, to make cakes and that I could do some decorating. Some how I over sold myself and became the cake consultant, offering advice on icing and fondants and was being allocated the "hard cakes" to bake. In the end I was listed to bake 2 chocolate mud cakes, 8 red velvet cakes, 2 hummingbird cakes and the raffle cake - a carnival cake. Phew!
This week is a massive hub of activity at my work as the exclusive season of The Bolshoi Ballet opens. Almost everyone at work is somehow involved, and having The Bolshoi come exclusively to QPAC (ie NOWHERE else in Australia) is a big achievement. I'm mainly working on other projects, so not heavily involved, but wanted to congratulate my teammates with a cake that symbolised the Bolshoi. I could have played with something vodka infused, or done the Pavlova to link to the first Bolshoi Australian visit, but I wanted to do something that linked to "Big" and "Red" - a Red Velvet Cake. I know red velvet feels more American than Russian, however it is red, it is big, and it will impress!
The main reason I've avoided red velvet in the past is because that on my first red velvet experience, I could taste the food colouring. I hate the taste of food colour and that turned me off. So, wanting to make something special for the Bolshoi but avoiding that bad food colouring aftertaste, I started a search online for a great red velvet recipe with minimal red food colouring. Most recipes called for 2 or 3 ozs (up to 6 tbs) of red food colouring, which was way too much for my liking. Then, via tastespotting, I found a recipe that required just 1 tbs. It even called it a "sexy" red velvet, so I went with that.
As always, I made the cake with my son. He got so excited when we added the red food colouring and cocoa, as it change the cake from ordinary to "OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT COLOUR!" We definitely had fun making this cake, so much so, I might try red velvet again. ENJOY!
