How I Revolutionized The Red Velvet Cake Like Never Before

Today I'm showing you the step-by-step of how I make this stunning red velvet entremet cake. I'll talk you through my entire recipe development process, show you the moment I realized I made a huge mistake that might have forced me to redo the entire cake from scratch, and show you the game-changing adjustment that made this recipe exceptional. My name is Louise and I'm a self-taught cake artist. Welcome to another episode of my baking series from classic to iconic. In this episode we're going to make a modern version of the classic red velvet cake. I'm going to show you the process behind developing this cake recipe, why this recipe in particular challenged me, my thoughts about recreating the classic red velvet cake, and what heartbreaking thing I had to do to make this cake exceptional. To make this cake I'm also going to show you how to master the following techniques. A fudgy ganache, a smooth french cream cheese buttercream, a fresh strawberry entremet insert, an airy cream cheese mousse, and a shiny mirror glaze. I'm going to show you how to make the following layers. Macadamia crunch, red velvet cake, strawberry ganache, french cream cheese buttercream, fresh strawberry compote, cream cheese mousse, mirror glaze, and chocolate decoration. Okay let's get started. First let me give you some context about how I created this cake, because this cake did pose some different challenges. I had a very specific wish for the flavors and textures of this cake, so I put a lot of work and testing into this one. As a recipe developer, I honestly rarely encounter this many challenges with a cake, as I actually had to redo some of the layers more than once, and in the end I had to redo the full cake. Which was a bit heartbreaking I gotta say, but I really wanted this recipe to be extraordinary, and if there's something I don't want to do with my cakes, then it's to compromise on the flavor. So when I initially made the red velvet cake layer, I thought the cake was great and everything was fine. I then continued with the other layers, where I ran into some issues with the buttercream, as a traditional red velvet cake has a cream cheese icing. So that's what I initially made, but I'm just not a fan of icing I realized when tasting it, as I thought it was too sweet and just didn't have the desired texture that I wanted for this cake. I therefore decided to make a french buttercream instead, as I love this texture and the flavor is always great. But then I accidentally seized the first batch, because I thought the color due to the egg yolks that I used were very orange, was a bit too yellow. So I added some full coloring paste, but in the end I added too much and that ended up seizing the cream. So yeah, that was not a great idea. However the second batch was perfect in terms of flavor and texture. After all this hassle of making three different buttercreams, I thought everything was great. So when I cut the cake, I was surprised to see that the red velvet cake appeared more dense and not airy and moist, as I thought it would be. I've been testing a new technique, where I'm adding the egg white separately to the dough, as I initially thought this would give a more airy dough. However this turned out not to be the case, but just to make it more dense unfortunately. This meant that I had to redo the full cake, because it's really important to me that people using the recipes and seeing my videos, can rely on my content for reference as to what the ideal structure should look like. So I just couldn't use the curing cake as it was, as it simply wouldn't show the cake as it should be. In the end, I'm actually really happy that I recreated the whole cake, because the second cake had all the right textures and the final recipe truly turned out amazing. So for now, let me show you how I created this very well tested, stunning red velvet cake. A typical red velvet cake doesn't have any crunch, but crunch is a must for me, as I love to pair with textures and I personally don't like a flavor experience of something only being soft. I was debating whether to use hazelnut or macadamia nuts for the crunch. Hazelnut is often my go-to, as it's a flavor that just fits well with most flavor profiles, but for this cake, I felt it would be too overpowering. So in the end, I decided to go with the macadamia nuts, due to its richness that I thought would pair well with the red velvet cake that has a slight cocoa taste and the fresh strawberries. I made a nutty crunch layer by mixing caramelized macadamia nuts, white chocolate, phyllo tin, biscuit cream and salt. I spread it out between two pieces of parchment paper and cut a circle with a pastry ring once it's set. I put the crunch in a pastry ring and then we can start prepping the next layer. Since the centerpiece of this cake is the red velvet cake, I wanted this cake element to be moist and soft. I therefore used both eggs and egg yolks, butter and oil to add moisture to the dough, where the first step is to mix sugar, butter and oil and then we add the eggs and the egg yolks. I didn't want the cake to be too sweet, as that would give an overly sweet cake flavor in combination with the other elements. I therefore added a higher ratio of coffee, cocoa powder, butter, milk and vinegar in the recipe, reduced the sugar and added a bit more vanilla to still get a balanced flavor. I'm adding red food coloring paste to give the cake the iconic red color that we know from a traditional red velvet cake and lastly stir in the dry ingredients with flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. We then pour the dough into pastry rings and bake them at 165 degrees for 28 to 31 minutes. After the cakes have cooled, I adjust the height of them to one and a half centimeter by cutting off the top. I then put the first cake on top of the crunch layer and the other one we will save for later. Now the surface of the cake needs to set before the ganache can be added. I love a good ganache as the fuddy texture is one of my favorite components in an entremet cake. I wanted this ganache to taste like strawberry yet not to be too sweet so I start out by melting white chocolate and pouring it in a bowl. Then we're moving on to the liquids. What can be tricky with a fruit ganache where you want a strong fruit flavor is to get the ratio between liquid versus chocolate right so you get a ganache that is stable and not too thin. I therefore tested different ratios of heavy cream, strawberry puree and lemon and created a ganache that has a great strawberry flavor while still having the amazingly fuddy structure that characterizes a ganache. I pour the hot cream over the chocolate and hand blend it to get a fully smooth texture. The ganache is poured onto the red velvet cake and put back in the freezer while the surface needs to set. I then place the other red velvet cake on the ganache and put the cake back in the freezer. As mentioned this one did cause me some trouble as I initially made a traditional cream cheese icing as this normally is a component in a red velvet cake but since we're taking this cake from classic to iconic I wanted to give the element a nicer texture and a less sweet flavor from icing. So I made a french cream cheese buttercream instead while I start out by beating egg yolks until it has a paler color. The egg yolks gives an almost custard like texture which is why this recipe contains several egg yolks as I think this gives the perfect texture. Sugar and water is then heated to 116 degrees and put over the egg yolks while whisking. I keep whisking until the outside of the bowl isn't hot anymore and the mixture has a thick and a more dense structure. I wanted the buttercream to have a stable texture, have the right amount of richness from the cream cheese and not to taste like butter. So I add soft butter while I keep whisking until all the butter flavor is gone as this just gives a more balanced flavor. I also increase the cream cheese ratio for a stronger flavor to resemble the traditional red velvet cake while still making sure that the buttercream have a stable texture by lastly adding a little amount of cornstarch and salt. I then spread a one centimeter thick layer of buttercream on top of the cake, level the surface and put it back in the freezer while preparing the strawberry compote. I decided to add strawberry flavor to this cake because I wanted to elevate the traditional red velvet cake with some fruit flavors to introduce some freshness to the classic cake. And what is more fresh than fresh strawberries? So I start out by cutting fresh strawberries into cubes. I created a compote recipe where the strawberries are kept fresh even after being frozen later on with a strawberry puree with sugar and pectin to give the compote a thicker texture. Here we start out by heating strawberry puree to the boiling point before adding sugar and pectin. What can be challenging with fresh fruit compotes is that they can end up being quite liquid due to the fruit naturally releasing water making the compote more liquid which can make it more difficult to cut the cake once it's defrosted. I therefore adjusted the amount of pectin as a setting agent to ensure a firm yet not too dense texture of the compote that I spread on top of the set buttercream. Then the cake needs to freeze overnight. For the mousse I wanted it to have the consistency of a traditional mousse and not just to be a no-bake cream cheese filling as that would give the cake a different consistency and not to have the stable and airy consistency from a mousse. I therefore decided to add a bit of white chocolate to the mousse as this helps stabilize the texture and gives the mousse a more round flavor. I here start out by melting white chocolate and putting it aside. I then move on to soaking gelatin, heating heavy cream, vanilla tea and lemon juice almost to a boil. The lemon juice helps adjust the sweetness of the mousse and add some freshness. We now mix the gelatin in the hot cream before it's poured over the white chocolate mixture. Mixing cream cheese and icing sugar I increased the amount of cream cheese as I wanted this to be the most permanent taste of the mousse. I mix the cream cheese with the chocolate and while this cools to lukewarm I'm whipping heavy cream to a lightly whipped foam and gently fold it into the chocolate slash cream cheese mixture. I pour the mousse in a silicone mold with acetate baking sheet and gently press the frozen cake down in the mousse with the strawberry compote facing downwards. Then the cake needs to freeze completely overnight. Since this is a valentine's cake and I wanted the outside of the cake to match the inside I'm going all in on the red decoration here. So I created a red mirror glaze with a slightly lighter color than what I was planning for the chocolate decoration as I wanted some contrast between the glaze and the decoration. I make the glaze by soaking gelatin, heating water, sugar, heavy cream and glucose syrup almost to a boil before pouring it over white chocolate. I then mix with a hand blender, add red food coloring paste and then the glaze needs to cool to 34 to 35 degrees. I place the fully frozen cake on a baking cooling rack and pour the 34 to 35 degrees hot glaze over the cake. Due to the temperature differences the glaze will stick and cover the cake nicely with a shiny surface. From the very beginning I had a strong idea about the design I wanted to make for this cake. I wanted to create something big, a bit dramatic and first and foremost something very red. I decided to make a large chocolate spiral encasing the cake as that's one of my favorite chocolate decorations. And if you want to learn more about how I create the chocolate spiral for this cake you can check out my online chocolate decoration courses that I have linked here. In the courses I also teach you how to temper chocolate and how to create my 10 signature decorations that I use on all my cakes. I put the spiral around the cake and lastly finish the decoration with flowers to give a cute finish. After working so hard on this cake I'm honestly so excited about how it turned out. I really love this cake look with the dramatic chocolate spiral in combination with the flowers and the red glaze. I think the colors are perfect for a red velvet valentine's cake and I love how this transforms the classic red velvet cake into an atremy cake. I am super excited for this. As you know by now I had so many issues with this cake but honestly I'm so happy that I redid it because the final recipe is truly amazing. This gotta be the best velvet cake I ever had because we have the very traditional red velvet cake with a very moist and fluffy consistency perfectly paired with the cream cheese but instead of the traditional frosting I made it with the french buttercream because I just like this texture more. It's super smooth and then it's just perfectly paired with the fruity strawberry. It's really really an amazing combination and I think it's perfect for valentine's. I hope you get the chance to make this amazing red velvet cake and if you like my videos make sure to subscribe. You can also check out my atremy cake playlist here. See you in the next video!