Have you ever eaten Red Velvet Cake?  Or baked one?  As a Midwestern girl, who has been baking for more than 40 years, you would think that I would have run across one.  But yesterday, I baked,  and tasted, my very first.  I read websites and recipes that claimed Red Velvet Cake for “the south”, but then there were some northern-folk who felt that their formula was probably the original.  I never did discover where the idea actually started, but after a little research, their was no question people felt very personally attached to the memories Red Velvet Cake evoked and the recipes are handed down in families like a precious heirloom.  Interestingly, they all come with their variations and quirks, making each unique and a custom creation.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, I took bits and pieces from the different recipes I found and baked one for myself, which I think probably turned out to be pretty traditional, other than the fruity twist.

Red Velvet Cake with Raspberries

Isn't it gorgeous! This would be so pretty at Christmas time or add some blueberries to the raspberries and it would be perfect for the Fourth of July!

My interest was first piqued with the idea of baking a Red Velvet Cake, because of the new air freshener scents I received from Renuzit, this week — Chocolate Covered Cherries and Red Velvet Cake.  I have shared with with you, before, how strongly I feel about certain scents and fragrances, (whether it be in laundry detergent, dish soap or air fresheners), to create a mood or set the tone in a home. Memories and experiences just seem to be so vivid and fresh when they are evoked by a smell that takes you back to the moment you experienced it.  In my childhood, Chocolate Covered Cherries were the ultimate delicacy and the gift my dad received for every birthday, Father’s Day and Christmas.  They were one of his favorites and if we were allowed to sample one — well that was just next to heaven.  :)  Cakes and cookies baking were common scents in our home, growing up, and a memory that I have spent years recreating for our own kids.  I so enjoy being in the kitchen and expressing my love for my family through the foods I create for them there.  Nothing is so welcoming, comforting and homey as a house filled with the smells of baking.  These new Renuzit fragrances capture those warm, welcoming memories in deliciously extravagant scents.  Check out Renuzit’s Facebook page to hear even more about their Tempting Indulgences air fresheners. You’re going to love them!    And, when you smell them, and see these pictures, you’re going to want to eat Red Velvet Cake, too!  But, I want to tweak this recipe some more.  You can read about it in my notes, below.  I just want it to be PERFECT for you and I don’t think it’s there, yet!  Not a baking-fail, per se, but not yet, special.  I’ll keep you posted.  In the meantime, check out what I did and these gorgeous pictures!

It's amazing! The air freshener smells exactly like the cake I baked. It's uncanny how they can create those fragrances!

Since baking happens at our house on a very regular basis, I had nearly everything, on hand, that I needed to whip up a Red Velvet Cake; but, I was out of buttermilk.  I decided to make a quick run to Walmart to get some and to grab a couple ingredients for some other recipes that were swirling and gelling in my brain over the last couple of days.  It was going to be a quick “in and out”, so I did a very dangerous thing.  (Insert crazy, sinister, oh no, not that, music here.)  dun–dun–dun–  I went in without a list!  Please, do not try this at home!  A trained professional navigated the store, without a list, and still came home with items not needed and neglected to purchase things they were planning to get.  Actual dings were put in the budget in the making of this list-free shopping trip, both at the store and in the needed gas to repeat the trip for the unpurchased items.  This is never a good idea for the family budget.  So, don’t follow my bad example.  Always shop with a list.  :)  If you want to see my entire shopping trip, check out my Google+ album.

Buttermilk. The original reason for entering the store and necessary for my cake. I bake with it often enough to need to keep it on hand, but not often enough to go through fresh buttermilk, every week. This powdered buttermilk is a fantastic option for me and always handy in the baking aisle.

I buzzed the air fresheners and end caps at our local Walmart to see if they were stocking the "yummy" new Renuzit scents. Not yet.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Renuzit.  As with  all Busy-at-Home reviews, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own and based on my personal experience with the product.  #TemptYourSenses #CBias #SocialFabric