Red Velvet Cupcastrophe....

Ok, so I need a little help understanding the fascination with Red Velvet Cup Cakes...  I asked a friend for a challenge and this little red devil of a task was handed to me.  After I looked at a few recipes, I was intrigued by similar ingredients in all of them.  I figured I was up for the challenge, but some of the ingredients caught my eye more that others.  This was the mixture of white vinegar, baking soda and red food coloring, which were the same ingredients that we used as kids during science experiments to emulate volcanoes... 
What does a really great Red Velvet Cup Cake taste like?  Is it Chocolate masked by the red color? Is it the icing, which has 4 cups of powdered sugar in it?  Please comment to tell me.  I followed a recipe I found online and the cake came out more pink than red and the flavor was bland with a hint of egg.  I wasn't really impressed by the result, but the $11 dollar icing was pretty amazing.  I am going to experiment a little bit more, adjusting ingredients a bit to figure out better flavors.   I'll keep you posted on the progress of this and maybe we collectively can figure out the best recipe that is easy to make!!!