If you’ve ever wondered why you enjoy red velvet cake but dislike chocolate cake, or vice versa, it’s not just you—there’s a reason. Despite what many think, the two are very different cakes.
While so many think red velvet cake is essentially chocolate cake with some red food coloring, a baker is here to dispel that common misconception.
TikTok user Ashley Cunningham (@sobadash_) showed how red velvet cake is prepared in a TikTok that amassed 1.5 million views. “Just to give you guys a perspective of why red velvet cake is not chocolate cake with food coloring,” she said.
Sitting on a table are 11 tubs each filled with 2 cups of flour, a tablespoon of cocoa powder, and buttermilk.
According to the private chef, red velvet cake is more of a “buttermilk cake” than a chocolate one because, as Cunningham explained, there is only a small amount of cocoa powder in the cake, and it also contains buttermilk and vinegar. “This is the ratio of flour to cocoa powder,” Cunningham said. “It’s literally just a little bit of flavor.”
Cunningham’s assessment is backed up by several publications, including Food & Wine, which elaborated on the differences. Not only do the cakes taste different but they also have different textures due to the addition of the vinegar and buttermilk in red velvet cakes. While chocolate cake is moist and dense, red velvet is soft and tender.
In the caption, Cunningham wrote: “Let’s stop lying on red velvet cake’s name please!!!!!”
@sobadash_ Let’s stop lying on red velvet cake’s name please!!!!! #redvelvetcake ♬ original sound – Ashley Cunningham
Viewers thanked Cunningham for trying to do right by red velvet cake.
“I’m so glad you’re showing this bc as a chocolate cake hater and red velvet cake lover, I knew there MUST have been a difference. I knew it tasted different!” one viewer wrote.
“[I’ve been] saying this for years. Not to mention I’ve never had a red velvet cake that taste like chocolate cake,” a second commented.
“I feel like that lil bite of vinegar changes the flavor for me,” a third stated.
“I tell ppl this all the time. Not only is the recipe different, it quite literally TASTES different,” a fourth remarked.
Even one viewer was shocked by the misconception, saying, “I’m appalled people think it’s the same???’”
The Daily Dot reached out to Cunningham via email and TikTok comment.
