Red Velvet NYC is a subscription box that helps you learn how to "bake like a professional." Each month, 2 baking kits arrive in a box, including all the pre-measured ingredients and a detailed recipe card. They also offer an a la carte option for ordering specific kits from their site. They strive to offer impressive recipes and facilitate amazing experiences in the kitchen for any age.
Each box they send includes every ingredient you will need for the recipes, including perishables like diary in an insulated bag, except for eggs.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About This Baking Kit
The Subscription Box: Red Velvet NYC
The Cost: $49 + free shipping. Save with 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions.
The Products: Each month's box contains 2 baking kits, including all pre-measured ingredients and detailed recipe cards.
Ships to: the US
Our Review
My box included a welcome letter, in addition to everything needed for the recipes.
This month, the two recipes I was sent were Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Gold Sprinkles and Applesauce Cake with Caramel Glaze. Let's get started!
Applesauce Cake with Caramel Glaze
Total Time According to Red Velvet NYC: 70-75 minutes
Actual Time: 70 minutes
The first recipe I made was the Applesauce Cake with Caramel Glaze! (FYI - the a la carte price for just this kit on its own is $28 from Red Velvet NYC's website)
I gathered all my ingredients and the pans and bowls and such I would need to make the cake.
The first step was to sift the dry ingredients and grease + flour the bundt pan. One thing that surprised me but made me quite excited is that the cake had black pepper in it! I have never made a spiced cake like this before (it also had ginger, allspice, and cinnamon) and I thought the pepper would add some interesting dimension.
Then I combined the sugars and wet ingredients and blend until smooth.
Then, I folded them together and poured them into the bundt pan! I put it in the oven to bake. It was this moment when I realized I added way too much oil. The box contained big plastic bags with ingredients, the applesauces, the insulated envelope for the refrigerated ingredients, and an 8 oz bottle of oil. When I looked over the recipe ingredients and saw that it called for oil, I grabbed the 8 oz of oil. The recipe card has no measurements listed since the ingredients are pre-measured. Once the cake was in the oven and I was cleaning up I realized there was a much smaller bottle of oil left on the counter that was in the bag that I overlooked somehow.
Fortunately, oil seems to be a somewhat flexible ingredient in cakes... I expected that the worst case scenario would leave the cake just a little denser than it should be, but if it ended up affecting the way it baked up, I didn't even notice! I just made a note that the second recipe would need a full 8 oz of oil from my pantry when I made it. Also, I think I needed to grease or flour my pan better because it didn't come out super smooth, but since there's glaze I didn't worry about it.
The glaze was pretty easy - in a saucepan, I combined butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt over medium heat. I boiled it for exactly 1 minute before removing it from the heat and whisking in the confectioner's sugar gradually.
Here it is! My completed Applesauce Cake with Caramel Glaze! I love how it turned out and it was truly delicious. I made this before a game night and everybody loved it. I ate the leftovers with coffee and I'd make this again in a heartbeat.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Gold Sprinkles
Total Time According to Red Velvet NYC: 45-50 minutes
Actual Time: 55 minutes (including my son's help!)
The second dessert we were sent to make was Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Gold Sprinkles (FYI - the a la carte price for just this kit alone is $32). Just that name sounds heavenly.
First, I gathered all the ingredients.
Then, I sifted the dry ingredients and mixed up the sugars and wet ingredients, with the help of my son. I also separated the eggs into yolks and whites and mixed the yolks into the wet ingredients. Next, we folded the sifted flour mixture into the wet ingredients until they were just combined.
We also whipped up the egg whites until stiff peaks formed, folded them in gently.
The next step was to fill our adorable cupcake liners (I love the golden lattice pattern and scalloped edge!) two-thirds of the way full with the batter.
I felt like I had a lot of batter leftover! I actually had enough to use some cupcake liners I had at home in a muffin tin and make 4 or 5 more cupcakes!
Once these baked (my house smelled uh-mazing) I could tell I accidentally filled them a little unevenly. But cupcakes need frosting so no one would notice once they were decorated!
I realize now that I forgot to photograph the process of making the frosting, but it was just combining butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, and confectioner's sugar and mixing with an electric mixer until it was smooth and creamy. This frosting is really, really good! They included a piping bag to use to swirl it so prettily on top of the cupcakes.
Here they are! The recipe made 18 cupcakes total. Red Velvet NYC also includes a baking kit for "Halloween Cupcakes" which are exactly the same as this, just with little bat sprinkles, which they tossed in for me, appropriately for Halloween.
I LOVE how these turned out, and they taste amazing. Honestly, they taste just like a pumpkin roll, if you have had one of those before. These are packaged and decorated so nicely that I couldn't resist gifting some to my neighbors. The cardboard cupcake liners just make them look extra special - I think I'll have to get some similar ones for personal baking for the holidays!
The final touch was a sheet suggesting what to do with leftover pumpkin puree since the recipe only used 1/2 a can (they marked on the outside of the can the amount I was to scoop out). Their suggestions include Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread, Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait, Pumpkin Smoothie, Pumpkin Latte (yum), Sumpkin Soup, and Pumpkin Hummus dip. All of these can be made with the amount of pumpkin that was leftover from the cupcakes. I thought this was a very thoughtful touch, since the first thing I wondered when adding the pumpkin to the mixing bowl was, "sooo, what do I do with the rest of this?"
The Verdict: I have to say that I truly loved this Red Velvet NYC box. I had so much fun with it and the recipes piqued my excitement, tasted delicious, and I was proud of what I had made by the end of each recipe. The presentation for both recipes was great and it made me happy to so solidly complete the baking projects with decoration or pretty plating. The packaging of the subscription box itself was well put-together and I really appreciate that they send me everything I need (minus eggs, which I understand their reasoning, and I always have some on hand anyway). The recipe cards were very prettily designed and the instructions were clearly articulated and explained well. Regarding value, I know $49 seems a little steep to me, but I enjoyed the process and the recipes so much that - personally, at least - I'm happy with my experience and the quantity and quality of desserts I created with these baking kits. Also, the price is less expensive than if you were to order the two baking kits from Red Velvet NYC individually, outside of the subscription.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Red Velvet NYC sends out different recipes each month, so you will receive November's box. (Subscription boxes are delivered the first Thursday of every month.) That being said, you can browse their desserts and baking kits and order a la carte.
Value Breakdown: At $49, you are paying approximately$24.50 per dessert. However, these kits are also sold a la carte on Red Velvet NYC's website, so with the Applesauce Cake kit sold for $28 and the Pumpkin Cupcakes sold for $32 ($33, technically, for the Halloween Cupcakes which are the same, plus the bat sprinkles), you're really getting a $61 retail value for $49.
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What do you think about Red Velvet NYC's baking kit subscription? Have you tried their baking kits before?
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