Trendy? No
Just
expected at any southern family get together along with the carrot cake, chocolate cake with tiny layers, and caramel cake.
I remember my grandmother putting in bottles of red dye. Her cake was never dry but the frosting was too sweet for me. The cocoa is used to cut the acidity of the buttermilk.
I can't imagine how many bottles of red dye #5 that she probably used in her lifetime.
Lori