Red Velvet Cake (Aubry Lafleur)

## Legend Summary

The legend of the “Red Velvet Cake” is short and sweet, much like the recipe for the cake itself. Legend has it that the red velvet cake originated at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It started with a woman eating the red velvet cake at the hotel and wanting the recipe. The hotel offered to let her have the recipe, but for quite a high cost. Over $100 in the early 1900s, which is about $2,148.86 today. Could you imagine paying that price for just the recipe? The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel later goes out of their way to disprove this legend once the word has spread about their immaculate red velvet cake and exclusive recipe. The hotel even gave out copies of the recipe to disprove the legend, but the legend remains. The word “velvet” was used to describe the smooth texture of the cake, originating the term “velvet cake”.

## History

If you were to do a quick google search to find the origin of the red velvet cake Wikipedia would say that it originated at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, but that would not be true. According to the Sunflower Baking Company “the history of cake dates back to the 13th century”. Starting first with sweet breads then adding fruits and nuts into the recipes. Later the recipe was broken down to create a softer texture and richer flavor, which resulted in cakes. Red velvet cakes came into existence during the Victorian Era, due to many recipes calling for cocoa a luxury good. The red color of the cake is a result of the chemical reaction between the cocoa and baking soda as well as buttermilk. The first time the cake was seen in a cookbook was not until 1943 when Irma S. Rombauer wrote out the recipe in her cookbook titled “The Joy of Cooking”. During World War II supplies and resources were few and far between, so bakers used beet juice in their cakes to keep the moisture of the velvet cake and guarantee the red color of the cake. Several recipes today still call for beet juice. Both the Adams Extract company and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel take credit for the origin of the red velvet cake, but neither one can be proved.

## Adaptations

This legend has been turned and twisted many ways over the years. There are a few things that remain the same throughout the different variations of the “Red Velvet Cake”, many of which are detailed in *The Vanishing Hitchhiker American Urban Legends and Their Meanings*. The different variations of the legend detail a woman sharing the recipe, noting how much it cost her or her friend to get the recipe but still choosing to pass it around. According to *The Vanishing Hitchhiker American Urban Legends and Their Meanings* “the price varies from $5 to $1,000”. Almost all the stories told from around the 1960s hold the cake’s recipe at roughly $300. This legend can be found in newspapers, shared on city buses, and even through mailed letters. There are various versions of the legend that include an important detail, they share the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Additional variations add details about the frosting, who was working when the recipe was shared, how the lady who received the recipe did not know how much it would cost her, and many other various details to elaborate the story. A few details are consistent throughout a majority of the stories. The “Red Velvet Cake” recipe originated from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, a woman was obsessed with the cake and wanted the recipe, and she paid a large sum of money to have the recipe.

## Analysis of Adaptations

Several things stick out to me after reading several variations of this legend. I am left wondering several things as well. First with the origin of the legend, did someone really try to sell the recipe for a hundred dollars in the early 1900s? The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel accompanied some of the wealthiest people in the United States at the time, so it is plausible that someone would pay such a large sum of money for something they needed to recreate themselves, something to bring back home. It is amazing to think that this urban legend may have simply started at a hotel in New York City and was able to spread across the United States simply by word of mouth. I often think about who started the legend and the more I think about it, logically it only makes sense that someone at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel must have started the legend. Maybe it was someone who worked for the hotel and wanted to draw in more visitors. It may have been a chef or baker working at the hotel simply starting a rumor for fun, or possibly needing more business. What if one of the owners or managers of the hotel brought in guests often to try different desserts, especially the red velvet cake after this rumor had started to bring in more guests. It would be an interesting to ask older folks living in and around New York City about their familiarization with this urban legend. With as many variations as there are we may never know where the red velvet cake originated.

## Works Cited

Brunvand, Jan Harold. *The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings*. Norton, 2003.

Holland, Kimberly. “Was the Original Red Velvet Cake Created in New York City?” *Southern Living*, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2023, www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cakes/southern-red-velvet-cake.

Kelly, DB. “The Truth about Red Velvet Cake.” *Mashed*, Mashed, www.mashed.com/157768/the-truth-about-red-velvet-cake/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

“The History behind Traditional Red Velvet Cake and Cupcake.” *Sunflour Baking Company*, sunflourbakingcompany.com/blogs/news/the-history-behind-traditional-red-velvet-cake-and-cupcake. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.

“The Rip-off Recipe Legend.” *Museum of Hoaxes*, hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the\_rip-off\_recipe\_legend/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2023.