There are no centrists on Red Velvet cake-- you love it or leave it. Is it a litmus test for how one feels about the South? Comfort food or fear of chemicals? Is it just plain old white buttermilk cake with an entire bottle of red food coloring added, a gimmick to boost sales of food coloring? Is it Devil's food cake with all but 2 Tbsp. of the cocoa removed to deny the sinful pleasure of chocolate? Is it a revision of Depression or wartime Beet Chocolate cake? Regardless, it is a good idea to bring back the beet version for vegans?
This came up recently when my sibling was over for dinner and opined that red velvet cake was a nearly-tasteless vehicle for white frosting, pointless when there was Devil's food with chocolate frosting to be had. (I would rather have Boston Cream Pie than either, but let it pass). Recipes and more commentary below the orange croissant.
The secret history of Red Velvet cake: it was developed during the Great Depression for the John Adams Co., a manufacturer of food coloring and flavorings. The color made it look cheerful, and made up for the lack of chocolate and/or cocoa. The "velvet" part refers to the texture, and was a popular term during the late 19th and early 20th century. The "red" part meant that it was made with brown sugar. An early version of the urban legend about the $250 Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe ascribes a similar origin (the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) to Red Velvet cake.
The answer to my sibling's question, what would Red Velvet cake be without the bottle of food coloring is a very tender and pale brownish cake. Take away the two Tbsp. of cocoa, and you have "White Velvet" cake.
Best recipes for Red Velvet and White Velvet cake are on Rose Levy Beranbaum's site, http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/ Make the Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate frosting for either. Red Velvet cake and DCWC frosting may also be found here. White Velvet cake and Milk Chocolate ganache may be found here. I notice that RLB's White Velvet is not made with buttermilk or other sour product; I recommend searching for "white buttermilk cake".
I haven't tried this, but David Lebovitz adapted this recipe for moist chocolate beet cake from Nigel Slater's "Tender." He also has a great version of Devil's Food cake.
My attempt to literally see what I get without the coloring is to make the Rose recipe without cocoa or coloring, divide the batter in half and add 2 Tbsp. each black cocoa and dutch-processed cocoa to one half and 1/2 tsp. chocolate extract to the other, and swirl the two parts together to make marble cake. The frosting should be white chocolate cream cheese (DCWC above) with very thin lines of melted unsweetened chocolate drawn on top and slightly blurred with a small offset spatula to form snow tiger stripes. Black cocoa and chocolate extract (and anything else one might need to bake) are available at King Arthur Flour.
From the box: use the Thomas Keller "ad hoc" mix from Williams-Sonoma and substitute melted butter for half of the oil.
I did create a version for diabetics using Brown Splenda and browned butter. Splenda doesn't brown and has a slight aftertaste, so pre-browning helps. It is also important to double the vanilla, and add an extra egg because it doesn't hold moisture so well. Using 3 Tbsp. of cocoa and adding 3 oz. of chopped milk chocolate and skipping the coloring yields a fine milder chocolate cake perfect for German Chocolate cake or milk chocolate lovers. The extra chocolate guarantees there will be no aftertaste from the Splenda. Allegedly using coconut sugar one-for-one to replace cane sugar yields a similar GI to using Brown Splenda/Splenda Baker's Blend, or half sugar plus one quarter the amount of Splenda, but I haven't tried it yet.
The 1% always says "let them eat cake," but nobody ever says what kind. Let my people eat!