Dora Abney's Red Velvet Cake

Commemorative plaque at corner of Strand Street and 22nd Street in Galveston, Texas honoring June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free. Wikimedia Commons, William C Teller.

Happy first month of that legendary season many Seattleites endure overcast skies all year waiting for: Seattle summer! Seattle seems to spring to life in June; it is a season of neighborhood block parties, pride celebrations, and jumping into the still a bit chilly lakes. Though next month marks the much anticipated 250th anniversary of the nation, another crucial historical holiday—itself considered a sort of independence day—falls on June 19th, aptly known as Juneteenth. In the midst of the Civil War on January 1, 1863, president Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863—however, word of the Proclamation didn’t reach many slaves until much later. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865, two months after the Civil War ended, that slaves in Texas learned that they were free. On that day in Galveston, Texas, General Granger of the Union Army read General Order #3, announcing that “all slaves are free.” The crowd of ex-slaves immediately began “leaping, swaying, and whirling in unrehearsed glee.” People sang, laughed, cried, and jumped up and down with joy. In Texas, former slaves and their descendants continued to celebrate the anniversary of their freedom every year on June 19th, earning the holiday the name “Juneteenth.” 

Though the holiday began in Texas, African Americans migrating to other parts of the country took the holiday with them, with the first documented Juneteenth celebration in Seattle taking place in 1890. In our Food Stories cookbook, Dora Abney shared her relationship to Juneteenth from her childhood in Texas to her adult life after moving to Seattle in the early 1960s, recounting “What I can remember about Juneteenth in Texas is mostly my dad; my dad died when I was about eleven. We used to celebrate it every summer, and to me it was a joyful thing. It was hot. I just remember how my dad used to say, you know, ‘Juneteenth, that’s a big thing for us,’ and by being born in the South, I kinda understood what he was saying. [I saw] what was going on, but didn’t really understand why…When we came to Washington State it kind of faded out of the family, people didn’t celebrate it…Then about four years ago, when I started at the daycare center, I brought it up again. I said, “We need to celebrate Juneteenth. The kids don’t know what it’s about.” So in 2000 we had a Juneteenth celebration at Twinks [Early Childhood Education Center and Preschool in Columbia City], where we blocked off the street, we sold barbecue, and the kids played, and it was exciting. I says “Juneteenth,” and then to me, everybody blossomed. And all of a sudden everybody did know about it. You know, you don’t hear about it and then all of a sudden, “Yeah, I heard about that, what is it about?” So we started digging up information so we could put it out, so people understand what it is.” 

Dora Abney sadly passed away in 2015, but one hopes she would feel joy at the coining of Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021 and the ways more and more organizations in Seattle have begun hosting Juneteenth celebrations that foster joy, education, reflection, and community building, with King County itself sponsoring the Northwest African American Museum’s annual Juneteenth event. To celebrate Juneteenth, Abney shared a recipe for red velvet cake, noting that red foods were a Juneteenth tradition because “red represented the blood that was shed during slavery. [We had red pop], red velvet cake, ice cream. Watermelon. And chicken barbecue, barbecued ribs. The blood was really flowing!” This Juneteenth, use the federal holiday to engage in both celebration and intentional self-education, and perhaps even spend an hour or two making Abney’s delicious red velvet cake. If you’re interested in hearing more from Abney, check out this oral interview with her where she discusses her relationship to Juneteenth in more depth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPIaMzcbUZ8 

---

Red Velvet Cake

Dora Abney

For the cake:

• ½ cup shortening 

• 1½ cups sugar 

• 2 eggs 

• 1 tsp. vanilla 

• 1 tsp. butter flavoring 

• 1½ oz. bottle of red color 

• 3 Tbsp. cocoa 

• 2½ cups sifted cake flour 

• 1 cup buttermilk 

• 1 tsp. salt 

• 1 Tbsp. vinegar 

• 1 tsp. baking soda

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and butter flavor. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add it to the first mixture of shortening and sugar. Alternately add sifted flour and buttermilk. Mix baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl; add to batter. 

Bake in three 9” or 10” pans for 20-25 minutes at 350° . Let cool completely before frosting. 

For the frosting:

• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened 

• 6 Tbsp. butter, softened 

• 1 tsp. vanilla 

• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients until smooth.