From Diana Rattray,
Your Guide to Southern Food.
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Although the details are sketchy at best, red velvet cake is not as Southern as many like to think. The story, which began circulating some time in the 1940s, claimed that Manhattan's elegant Waldorf-Astoria granted a diner's request for the recipe, then a short time later sent her a bill in the amount of $100. The angry woman, apparently with revenge in mind, then began circulating the recipe along with the story. Another "baked" legend with the same storyline is the $250 Chocolate Chip Cookie, also known as the Neiman-Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

Home cooks do seem to love cakes with an unusual story or a "secret ingredient." Wacky cake, tomato soup cake and mayonnaise cake are just a few of the unusual cakes we all have in our recipe files, so it's no wonder Southern cooks embraced the delicious and colorful red velvet cake. Despite its rather tainted roots, the cake turned out to be a winner, perfect for Christmas, Valentines Day, and just about any occasion.

Most of the red velvet cake recipes below come from forum members and many include a cream cheese or cooked frosting recipe, but it would be delicious with any white frosting you choose.
Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake Recipes:
Red Velvet Cake
Doodles' Red Cake
Mother's Red Velvet Cake
Aunt Mildred's Red Velvet Cake
Grandmother's Red Velvet Cake
Cheri's Easy Red Velvet Cake

More Unique Cakes:

Tomato Soup Cake
Chocolate Shadow Cake
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Chocolate Marshmallow Cake
Chocolate Wacky Cake
Vanilla Crazy Cake
Orange Slice Candy Cake
Orange Bonbon Cake
Fudge Cherry Cake
Coca Cola Cake
Kahlua Bowl Cake
Kitty Litter Cake
German Chocolate Upside Down Cake

Related Resources
Cake Recipes Index
Cake Baking Tips
Mississippi Mud Cakes and Pies
Cake Mix Cakes and Desserts
Dessert Recipes Index
Chocolate Cake Recipes
Pound Cake Recipes
Cookies and Bars