Doughboys Red Velvet Cake - Does it live up to the hype?

"If you don't think this is the BEST red velvet cake ever, you're probably mentally challenged. "

-Yelp reviewer 6/2009

Ummmm. No, maybe if you don't think this is the BEST red velvet cake ever... it isn't! I have tried many versions of red velvet cake throughout the country, and even internationally - so far, the best red velvet cake I have ever eaten is in Truckee, Lake Tahoe at the Wagon Train Coffee Shop. But even within LA - I prefer Sprinkles over Doughboys.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But this is my take on red velvet cake (RVC). I love red velvet cake and consider myself a RVC expert! I can't remember exactly what sparked my fascination (and obsession) with red velvet cake, but a few years ago I decided that I was on a quest to find the BEST red velvet cake. It is a challenge, because RVC it is a tricky cake to get right. Over the years, I learned that I prefer a cream cheese frosting over buttercream, a moist yet medium density cake over a light and fluffy vs dry. I like my RVC to taste distinct and not just a red colored yellow cake or chocolate cake. I can appreciate the buttermilk and vinegar twang,

Whenever I travel to a new city, I seek out the RVC. This is usually not an easy task as RVC is a rare treat in most parts of this country. However, LA is the hotbed for RVC - there are probably over a dozen options! So, on my recent trip to LA, I researched and learned that Doughboys was a legend in LA for their RVC. To my good fortune, they just reopened! I convinced my best friend visiting from New Zealand to go with me to try it out.

The verdict:

1. The "cake" size is so odd. Way too big to be a cupcake, too small to be an individual cake. It is a good size for sharing but even so it was too much for two and not tasty even to finish.

2. The cream cheese frosting was subtle. Not the best I've had, and not the worst either.

3. The red color was accurate - Brownish/Red

4. The cake? It was moist and okay. flavor was kind of blah.

After a few bites, I decided that was enough of this RVC. That's my take though! I now plenty of people who seem to love it, so give it a try for yourself!

Doughboys - Los Angeles

www.doughboyscafe.com

8136 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 852-1020

Red Velvet - Los Angeles!

For those of you who haven't heard the news yet - we're moving to LA in July 2010! I am so excited! Not only does this mean no more snow in the winter (unless we choose to go skiing or something!) it also means I'm closer to many more red velvet cupcakes. While I was out in LA interviewing for fellowship in Sept, I tried to do a quick sampling of the local treats. I compared Sprinkles with Susiecakes.

Sprinkles was delicious as usual. It may not be the "BEST" red velvet cake that I've had, but it is always solid and consistent. The baking mix is available at Williams and Sonoma. Susiecakes gets good reviews but I wasn't all that impressed. I can't remember what it was like but I think it was moist and had a buttercream frosting.

Long Overdue RVC update

So, things have been busy and I haven't been posting. But, I haven't stopped eating and trying Red Velvet Cupcakes so I have a few updates for you all! I will first post the BEST RVC in New England - picked for me for my 30th Birthday by my wonderful husband Jason from the North End (what used to be LuLu's bakeshop) in Boston.

The cake was dense and rich with a luscious cream cheese frosting! Divine! It is a toss up between this red velvet and the one from Truckee, CA.

Red Velvet is Everywhere?

Recently, J and I crashed (we happened to be in the mall shopping for new cookware) the renovated Crate and Barrel opening in Natick - and they had cookies and beverages to celebrate. Look what I found! :) A red velvet mini whoopie pie. The flavor was so-so, but isn't it cute?!

I think I found my favorite Red Velvet!

J and I have been traveling more or less for the last month and we've eaten and seen a lot of amazing things that I plan on sharing, so please keep checking the blog for updates over the next few weeks! But, first things first - I think I found my favorite red velvet cupcake!!!

Who would have guessed that the popular resort town of Truckee, in North Lake Tahoe would host the most delicious red velvet cupcake I've tasted so far?!

As I was strolling through Truckee last Sunday afternoon, a pink cupcake with luscious frosting caught my eye through the store window. I was a bit skeptical about this "Wagon Train Coffee Shop" - their baked goods weren't the most aesthetically pleasing - the cookies were lumpy bumpy or unadorned, the cupcakes simple and humble. So, when I saw that pink cupcake amongst the others, I wondered - is that a strawberry cupcake? or could it be.... RVC? Devoted to my quest to find the "Best RVC" - I had to ask, and to my surprise and glee - it was indeed a Red Velvet Cupcake!

RVC usually contains a considerable amount of red dye (in fact, so much that in the past, it has stained my fingers and teeth). This one looked, natural and it's pink color actually threw me off. But one bite into it, all my doubts were cast aside. It was moist, with a rich buttermilk yet balanced and nuanced flavor. The cream cheese frosting tied it together beautifully. Once I finished eating it, I doubled back and bought another one for Jason. The salesgirl was pleased, and told me this was her "grandma from New Orlean's secret recipe." Jason agreed. This one was a winner.

I do have to give an honorable mention to That takes the cake - in the marina district of SF. I've blogged about the RVC from them before - so if you're curious, please refer to May 2009. :)

Wagon Train Coffee Shop: 10080 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA. 96161 (530) 587-7574

Wedding's Over and I'm Back with a RVC update!

I've taken a long long break from blogging, but now wedding and all the planning is over - I can start sharing again. The question is....where to start?  Since the last post, I've gotten married, honeymooned in Greece and Turkey, visited NYC and just spent a fabulous weekend celebrating J's birthday in Boston.

It only seems appropriate for me to start up again with a RVC post. 

This one is from Billy's Bakery in Chelsea, Manhattan. I have to say, as much as I love Billy's cupcakes - the vanilla vanilla is my favorite, the red velvet was a little disappointing. The frosting deserves an (A) - it was delicious, creamy, smooth, just the right sweetness but it was a buttercream, not cream cheese and I am a strong believer that RVC tastes best with cream cheese frosting. The RV cake part itself was a little lackluster (B-) - it tasted fresh, yet was somewhat dry and tasted more like a mild chocolate cake than the buttermilky and complex red velvet i was looking for. The Quest continues!!!!! 

South End Buttery RED VELVET cupcake

RVC brings me back again. Things are getting really busy with the wedding and work this summer, but I have been eating well, and will try to put some new reviews and tasty delights up in the next few days.

Only July 4th, Jason and I went into Boston for the fireworks, and chanced upon this Red Velvet Cupcake at the South End Buttery. Although I was still full from the previous day's binge of lobsters, ribs, corn, and pie... I couldn't resist. And the verdict?.....

It was okay. The frosting was cream cheese and tasty with a rich smooth consistency. However the red velvet cake part itself lacked a bit of flavor. It tasted more like a mild chocolate cake than the nuanced red velvet flavor I'm still searching for..... Sigh. The quest continues... if anyone knows of any other RVC spots I should hit up let me know and I'll add it to the list!

Red Velvet always brings me back!

I have fallen behind in my blogging. I've been busy - working, figuring out my future (which will hopefully include the West Coast in 2010), and planning our wedding.  But don't worry - I've been continuing to eat well, and have not given up on my quest for the *World's Best* Red Velvet Cake.  :)

Although I have sampled red velvet cake (RVC) throughout the country, rarely do I get it near home. The last time I had RVC in Boston was when Jason had one special ordered for my birthday. So imagine this. I was in Boston Friday afternoon getting my hair permed (I think I've posted on the wonders of the "digital perm" previously) and on my way back to the Mass Pike, I kept an eye out for this cupcake shop "Sweet" that Bostonians have be raving about. Just as I was about to drive by, a car pulled out of a parking spot and it opened up. Right in front of the store. It was fate. I knew I had to go in.

The verdict? Beautifully designed, attractive cupcakes. But sadly, lousy taste. So lousy, I can't remember if the cake had any flavor other than the cream cheese frosting, which was good. But I am not a cream cheese frosting critic, I am a red velvet cake connoisseur.  So, disappointed, I'm back to the drawing board. FYI - the cappuccino and carrot cake mini muffins I got were also disappointing in flavor and dry. Two thumbs down for Sweet on Mass Ave. (perhaps the worst rating in my blog thus far). 

East West Red Velvet Showdown

I'm back from my monthlong hiatus - I have to say, every now and then I give up on blogging because 1) I'm just too busy and 2) because I'm not quite sure anyone is reading and wonder about posting into the black hole of cyberspace. But during my trip to SF - my friend Adam commented that he liked the food posts, so reinvigorated and motivated, I'm back to deliver my East-West Red Velvet Cupcake showdown report... NYC vs SF

Dean and Deluca - ? brand. Most, balanced delicate flavor, not too much frosting (maybe it got stuck on the container) but just the right amount as it was cream cheese and very flavorful. Overall, one of the better RVC (red velvet cupcakes) i've had in a while!

This one was from NYC Grand Central Food Hall. I think it was good, but of these 3, the least memorable. It is also not as visually appealing - the frosting was a bit too smooshy.

The WINNER! San Francisco "TAKES THE CAKE!"
http://www.yelp.com/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.that-takes-the-cake.com&src_bizid=tp9mL3Hr3yYmqKAfVLLDfg

I have to confess, I bought the cupcake from that Takes the Cake after a leisurely Friday afternoon shopping stroll from Fillmore (Japatown) to the other end of Fillmore (Union). I was just wrapping up my shopping when I overheard a lady say "Red Velvet blah blah blah..." Immediately, I turned around and asked her what she was talking about! To my delight, she shared with me (and another eager passerby) that this wonderful cupcakery was just a block away. The other lady and me raced to the shop and I purchased this delicious gem! I was going directly to dinner with my friend Adam at La Mar (I will post on this soon!), so I put my RVC in my hotel room (notice the animal print Kimpton bathrobe?) for safekeeping. I woke up at 6:30am this morning (must be the jet lag), and what did I do? I ate my cupcake. And it was OMGoooood! It was moist, deliciately but richly flavored and the cream cheese frosting was creamy and decadent. A++

Red Velvet Cake - An Update, the Latest taste test

Of course I had to try the red velvet cake at the Southern Gourmet Pantry in the West Village as I strolled by it Sunday afternoon. I stopped Jason in his tracks and said, "Although I've eaten more cake than I ever have in the past week...I absolutely must try the red velvet cake there!" Alas, the quest must continue.

Since we had stuffed our self with a decadent brunch (meatball sliders, poached eggs on sausage biscuits and home fries/brussel sprouts - all were fantastic) - at the Little Owl and then had OMG smooth gelato at Grom (I had sea salt caramel and venezuelan chocolate)... I got a red cupcake to go.

Alas, I did not try it until we got home to Worcester late last night (after, yet another fantastic meal at Supper restaurant - lower east side)... and....the RV cupcake was kind of disappointing. It actually tasted just like dry yellow cake. I did not detect any buttermilk or touch of cocoa. Sigh. Not all red velvet cake is made equal - and hence, that is what makes the quest for the "Best RV", a continuous and suspense-filled quest.

However, I must share that the woman behind the counter (?the owner) of the southern Gourmet Pantry had the most extensive and passionate knowledge of hot sauces and offered perfect descriptions like it "gives a punch, then pulls back", so if not for the RV, I would recommend visiting the cozy and quaint store if you are ever in need of some hot pepper.