The Hunt for Red Velvet Cake

In February, I went to a friend's wedding on Long Island and tasted, for the first time, that seductive indulgence they call red velvet cake. After that, I was hooked and had red velvet cake on the brain pretty much 18/7. The fever has since subsided somewhat, but I will now recount my mini-quest to find a comparable red velvet cake in NYC.

I solicited suggestions from friends and co-workers at every opportunity... the first hit I got was Amy's Bread. A week after the wedding, I made the pilgrimage to their outpost in Chelsea Market, where you can buy their red velvet cake by the slice. I seem to recall it was around the $4.50 mark for a slice and this thing was MASSIVE.

Sadly, it was not the red velvet cake I was envisioning (hoping for) when I first began my hunt. I am no red velvet cake connoisseur -- the following is simply my impression of the product using my personal preference as a guide. 

The Amy's Bread version was really disappointing.

It looked like red velvet cake, but the similarities ended there. It was a fluffy cake, not very cocoa-y with a buttercream frosting (I prefer a dense, sugary cream cheese frosting that sits in your gut like a boulder). Even the color was kind of wimpy... not a deep, dark red signalling the use of food coloring with abandon. It was more on the pinker side of the red spectrum.

I would like to add that this is not a knock on Amy's Bread in general. I love the breads and cookies I have sampled there... but for me, their red velvet cake is red velvet in name only. Next up: Kitchenette.