Y’all, we tried it.

We’ve tried pureed boiled beets, TruColor gel paste and straight up beet powder. The results?

Fail.

Fail.

Super fail.

Your girls have been trying since 2016 (notice the bold font) to make red velvet a thing somehow some way, but it doesn’t love us like we love it. We’ve even tried alkalized cocoa powder (really the only option for the cake back in the day) and our cake was mad tasty but still turned gray. The beet juice and gel paste made our cookies and cupcakes dark brown (think Fenty PMS). The beet powder resulted in some weird a** s*** that we could not and would not subject you to, not even for free.

We know much of the appeal comes from the color since the word RED is in its name. And, let’s be real, the cake is simply a light cocoa flavor. Nothing spectacular. And if that cream cheese frosting ain’t poppin’, all hope is lost. If you see it in a bakery case, the bright red is easily recognized. That is how it’s always been. That is how it shall remain.

So, to stay true to our policy of never using artificial dyes, we just can’t do it. We know MANY people do an do it deliciously well, so please seek them out like you’ve been doing. Unless.. unless you’d be ok with a Gray Suede cake instead of Red Velvet? I mean, it tastes exactly the same, so…

Could you fathom eating a cake that tasted just like red velvet yet it looked more like a gloomy day than a party? I mean, “they” say we eat with our eyes first, so it might really be that serious. Let us know what you think!

xo