Mahogany Cake

Mahogany Cake is the classic predecessor to bright red velvet cakes we know and love today. Its brownish-red mahogany color is the result of the chemical reaction between buttermilk, baking soda, and cocoa. The resulting texture is moist, soft, and fluffy with a mild chocolate flavor.

Ever so subtly reminiscent of German Chocolate Cake, this recipe for Mahogany Cake is instead paired with Ermine frosting, as would have been traditional in the hey-day of Mahogany Cake's popularity. It has the airiness of whipped cream but the spreadability and pipeability of buttercream. It's velvety, tender, sweet, and beautiful, just like the cake.

Learn how to make a Mahogany Cake. The result is a perfectly balanced layer cake: mild yet flavorful, smooth, and velvety inside and out. Not too heavy, but not too light. Elevated, but simple and easy to whip up in a pinch.

What Is a Mahogany Cake?

Known for its reddish-brown mahogany color, mahogany cake pre-dates red velvet cake and is often considered the original chocolate cake. Buttermilk and baking soda was a technique of many cakes developed in the early 20th century, yielding a fine, moist, and soft "velvety" crumb.

Cocoa, already naturally acidic, especially in its unprocessed form at this time of the century, therefore creating a reddish color that looked mahogany. Thus, the early "red velvet" chocolate cake was born—just much more muted than some of the brighter red velvet desserts we enjoy today.

Ingredients for Mahogany Cake

A bevy of essential baking ingredients will be needed for this cake. Here's what you'll need:

• Cake flour: Gives the cake its structure. Cake flour is lighter and has less protein in it than all-purpose flour, which gives it a more tender, velvety crumb.
• Unsweetened cocoa: Gives the cake a mild chocolaty flavor and reacts with baking soda and buttermilk to give the cake a reddish brown mahogany color.
• Baking soda: Gives the cake its rise and reacts with buttermilk and cocoa to give the cake its signature hue.
• Table salt: Adding balance and depth of flavor to the cake, table salt also dissolves more quickly and evenly into the batter of the cake.
• Unsalted butter: Gives the cake its moistness and tender, buttery smooth crumb.
• Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake.
• Canola oil: Ensures a super tender and moist crumb as the cake bakes.
• Vanilla extract: Enhances the mild chocolaty flavor of the cake.
• Large eggs: Give the cake texture and rise as well as some richness and moistness.
• Whole buttermilk: Adds tanginess and moisture to the cake. Its acidity reacts with cocoa to make the mahogany red color. Make sure it's at room temperature to fully incorporate into the batter.
• Ermine frosting: This type of frosting, thickened with milk and flour to pudding consistency, was popular with bakers in the late 1800s—before buttercream or cream cheese frostings were used for decorative flexibility and ease of spreadability.

How To Make Mahogany Cake

The full list of recipe ingredients and amounts are below, but here's how the process goes:

• Step 1. Prepare oven and cake pans: Preheat your oven, and line two cake pans with cooking spray and parchment paper.
• Step 2. Combine dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
• Step 3. Cream butter and sugar, then add wet ingredients: Beat butter until smooth and fluffy, then add sugar, oil and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined.
• Step 4. Combine wet and dry mixtures: Add flour and dry ingredients, alternating one and the other, to the wet ingredients, until just combined.
• Step 5: Add cake batter to pans: Divided batter between pans.
• Step 6: Bake cake layers: Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean.
• Step 7: Cool cakes: Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Step 8: Frost cake layers: Spread frosting between layers on top and sides of cakes. Serve at room temperature.

Our Tips for Making Mahogany Cake

Use a little bit more of our guidance to make your mahogany cake easier—so you'll truly appreciate the final result:

• The cocoa counts: While Dutch process cocoa is great for many baked goods, it's best to opt for natural or unsweetened cocoa in this recipe; Dutch process cocoa is ever so slightly less acidic, and using it for this recipe will taste fine, but it won't yield the same reddish mahogany crumb that makes it unique.
• Warm things up: Eggs, buttermilk, and butter should be at room temperature before incorporating them into the batter. Room temperature liquids help the battery fully incorporate without the need to overmix, resulting in a very delicate, tender, moist crumb
• Frosting supply: Our recipe for Ermine frosting yields a generous amount of frosting for a very thick layer cake; you may end up with extra, but it also leaves you with plenty for a crumb layer.