Food Column: The delicate balance of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday

Next Wednesday poses a dilemma for many of us.

It’s a dilemma because Wednesday, Feb. 14, is Valentine’s Day. It’s a day of celebrating love and romance through one of my favorite media: food. Our plan is to have a nice dinner out (on a school night, no less) with some wine and maybe even some dessert. For others, it may mean indulging in some fancy chocolates or a glass of champagne.

It’s that word right there that is the problem: indulging. It’s a problem because Wednesday, Feb. 14, in addition to being Valentine’s Day, just happens to be Ash Wednesday. That’s right, it’s the first day of Lent, the traditional season of sacrifice and self-denial for many Christians.

In other words, indulging is out.

So, where did this tradition come from? According to the BBC, the custom of giving something up for Lent is meant to symbolize the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness. During these 40 days, he was tempted by Satan three times, once to turn stones into bread, a second time to build an earthly kingdom, and, finally, to prove that he was God by throwing himself off of a high place and letting the angels save him. Christians replicate that sacrifice by giving up things like ice cream or chocolate.

It's a lovely tradition that dates back to the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, which, if you think about it, is a very long time. Back then, however, people had it easier. Ice cream hadn’t been invented yet, and chocolate remained an exotic drink consumed half a world away in Meso America.

I joke, of course. As a historian, I am fully aware of how hard life was for people living 1,700 years ago. Dealing with hostile Huns and bouts of the plague is far worse than denying oneself a piece of cake. That said, we have our own problems in 2024, which include a presidential election and a literal plague – Covid – that stubbornly does not want to go away.

Hence, our urge to indulge ourselves once in awhile, which brings me to the recipes for this week. For me, the hardest thing to deny myself is chocolate. I probably eat a bit of chocolate every day, whether in a cookie, a protein bar, or candy. It is the treat I love most, and so I cannot bring myself to purge it from my life.

And I won’t.

To celebrate that love of chocolate, I’ve included a recipe for red velvet cupcakes that feature the wonderful flavor of chocolate with a little red coloring thrown in for Valentine’s Day. They also would be good to make for yourself any time of year.

And if you’ve decided to give chocolate up for Lent, I am running this column a week early so you can indulge yourself all you want.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart.

I first experienced red velvet cake as a student at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was always a special day when it appeared in the cafeteria line.

Back then, I had no idea how to make it or what it really was. Had I only known how easy it is. Really, it’s just a chocolate cake with some red food coloring thrown in.

A note on that food coloring. If you use gel paste, you will need only a half teaspoon. Gel paste can be purchased at most stores that sell cake decorating supplies. If you can’t find gel paste, you can use traditional red food coloring, but you will probably need an entire 1.5 oz. bottle to get that distinctive red color.

One other note. This recipe makes about 32 cupcakes. Thus, you will need more than one standard cupcake pan.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups cakes flour, sifted

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

2 eggs

½ teaspoon red gel-paste food color (or a 1.5 oz. bottle of regular red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized cupcake pans with paper liners (this recipe makes about 30 cupcakes, so plan accordingly).

Stir together the cake flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.

Use your electric mixer to combine the sugar and oil. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the food coloring and vanilla.

Mix in a third of the flour mixture until combined. Add half of the buttermilk. Continue with another third of the flour followed by the buttermilk. Finish with the last third of the flour. Make sure to scrape down the bowl's sides to get all the flour.

In a small bowl or glass, combine the baking soda with the vinegar (the mixture will foam). Add to the batter and stir to combine.

Divide batter evenly among your cupcake pans, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes, stopping to rotate the pans about halfway through.

Cool completely before frosting.

Makes between 28 and 32 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the best parts of red velvet cake is the cream cheese frosting. It’s quite easy to make, requiring only 4 ingredients. Just be sure that your butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before you start. That will ensure that the mixture is free of lumps.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (one stick) butter, room temperature

12 oz. of cream cheese, room temperature

4 cups of sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the butter and cream cheese together in your electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should be smooth and free of lumps before you proceed. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix to combine. Finish by stirring in the vanilla.

This mixture should be more than enough to frost 30-32 cupcakes (I had some left over).

Michael Knock is the Iowa City Press-Citizen food columnist.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Food Column: The delicate balance of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday