Red velvet cake wasn't on the table for the first Juneteenth celebration in 1865, because it wasn't all that widespread, or all that red yet. But other red foods were there, like watermelon for dessert, and became symbolic of the holiday. So it's no mystery why red velvet cake is served at modern Juneteenth celebrations, and at Christmas, too. Besides, it's delicious!
The first velvet cake was a deluxe chocolate cake, and the faint red tinge was a byproduct of how the cocoa reacted with the leavening agents. The cake was a hit, and people liked the red tint as much as they liked the flavor. Yes, you had to use the right kind of cocoa to produce the red color, but if you wanted to make sure, you could add food coloring. A recipe for red velvet cake was even used to promote the sale of food coloring in the 1940s. The shockingly bright red color with the additive proved very popular, and now you don't even need chocolate to have a festive red cake. But don't forget the cream cheese frosting!
Read how red velvet cake came about, and try a recipe for the classic Velvet Cocoa Cake that produces the natural reddish brown color, posted at Atlas Obscura. I made a set of red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting Friday for an office gathering, and I will be eating my sole portion today in honor of Juneteenth.
(Image credit: I made this.)
Office gathering, Miss C? Was this you and the cats?