![[feature]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh00foh0TurkMxMLU0FRldkYO3VWm582OMtUIqVeGTE8_L_Fq0db4KHRmUAccbx1W8Rwze_Xs3vvrvPFJXQv_OxP_fs3OPQkQcXfS1mAzDD8MqQLYooy0QQNK2xRuha8ygporCFSDFTIag/s1600-rw/fwx-red-velvet-cake-history.jpg)
By Stacy Conradt, Mental Floss
[post_ads_2]

[post_ads_2]
Adams’ ploy worked. The new brilliantly-colored cake was a hit with households across the country, and the fact that the recipe was offered on free recipe cards at grocery stores everywhere didn’t hurt either. So, there you have it: the popularity of red velvet cake is the result of a clever marketing ploy. And who can resist that tagline of a bygone era: "The cake of a wife time."
One (incorrect) take on the invention of the red velvet cake is that the Waldorf Astoria Hotel created it in the 1920s and graciously provided the recipe when a customer asked. She later received a bill in the mail for $350, prompting her to distribute the recipe to anyone who would take it. Sounds awfully similar to the Neiman Marcus cookie, doesn’t it?