Yes. You are being selfish.
Go ahead and post the recipe, here.
I won’t tell anyone.
Are you planning to build a business around selling it?
Do you think your friends might take your recipe and start the business you can't or won't, and then you will be envious of them?
Do you think your friends will start going to each others' homes because they will make the cake more frequently than you, and eventually they will stop coming over to your place?
Are you holding out for a "famous" recipe from one of your friends that you can trade for?
-PJ
Is it your own recipe you created? If yes then you don’t have to. It was gracious of you to offer to make another cake.
Or do what housewives did back in the day, sneaky and underhanded. Share the recipe but leave out an ingredient so the friends cake never comes out the same as yours. <-— people actually do that, I wouldn’t. Seems cowardly.
My wife refuses to let me share her grandmother’s Irish Shortbread recipe. It is really good. I don’t tell her I modified the recipe, and it is better.
It is selfish but so what? People creating things then insisting on getting paid for it is how nations create greatness. Taking their profits and giving it away to invading hoards is how to destroy a great nation.
The red food coloring comes from bug guts.
No, you are not selfish. It is your recipe.
There are plenty of RVC recipes online. They could do their own search. Be sure to get the ones that call for sour cream, 1 oz bottle of red food coloring, and use a cream cheese frosting.
You posted a thread to tell everyone that you have a recipe you won’t show them?
Well *I* make THE best icing for red velvet cake and I won’t share it with you ...
Why make a red velvet cake when you could make a pecan pie or strawberry shortcake (depending on season) instead?
Online there are pages of recipes for red velvet cake. Ain’t that special is it?
It’s your recipe. Do with it as you will.
Honestly, this is so trivial in my mind. With all the other problems in the world, how can you be concerned about sharing your precious recipe. Be honored anyone might want it.
I’ve spent years doing family history research for many families, and have lots of it online. I encourage people to copy it right out and share with others. That recipe won’t be any good at all when you’re dead unless you share it.
That’s MY opinion. I will hope that you will change yours, but if you don’t, then that’s ok. It’s YOUR opinion, and you’re allowed to have it.
Tommy, sorry but I think your attitude is narcissistic.
I’m a big fan of The Golden Rule.
I knew some New York suburban women one had a salad dressing the other a lasagna recipe
Their own recipes. No way were they giving those out. No.
The one with the salad dressing did show me how to make lasagna so…
No, you are not selfish. There are recipes I hold close, and others I share freely.
One such recipe I’ve shared is the best pancake recipe ever.
One which I have NOT is for my Italian Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake.
IMHO:
Let them eat cake...at your house.
(fyi, my own red velvet recipe is pretty darned good, too)
My wife’s grandmother had the best snickerdoodle cookie recipe I ever tasted. My kids called her Grandma Cookie. She used Parkay margarine & for the life of me I could never recreate because they always fell. I wish I had worked with her on a batch because she never measured anything. I’ve since modified the recipe and have had my wife’s cousins and family state its the closest that they’ve tasted but it bothers me because I can’t replicate it using Parkay.
My MIL said it could be using a wooden vs. steel spoon, farm fresh eggs etc. but have tried them all with no luck. One thing that did make a big difference was mixing the dry ingredients separately and well before folding in the mixed eggs, fat etc.