When I opened Flour, we were one of the few bake-from-scratch bakeries in town, and customers flooded us with requests for specialty cakes and pastries. They frequently waxed nostalgic about childhood desserts and begged us to replicate them. We often said yes, because it was a way for us to try a new dessert and make a customer happy—a win-win in our book. One of the most common requests was for red velvet cake. Even though I grew up in Texas, and this was purportedly a Southern cake, I ha