By now, my love for baking and my LOVE for all things sweet has been fairly established! And so when the sudden onslaught of all things bright and red hit me while grocery shopping a few days ago as Valentine’s Day was around the corner, I decided to bake the quintessential red cake- The Red Velvet Cake! As someone who has never been much of a ‘Valentine’s Day’ person, it was my way of celebrating the day with my loved ones.
I have always wanted to have a red velvet cake and it might come as a surprise to many that I have never had one till before last week! Something about the bright red and white has always had my attention and yet I never had the opportunity to have one. As strange as it might sound, it is true as the rich and gooey chocolate cakes have always triumphed over the pretty red one when it came down to choosing one, every single time. And I have always believed I would have it the ‘next time’!
And so, that ‘next time’ finally presented itself last week and I found this wonderful recipe from https://www.modernhoney.com/red-velvet-cake/ by Melissa Stadler. It was easy to make and just perfect to taste. I am posting the original recipe here and I hope you will enjoy it as much as my whole family did!
- 3 cups Cake Flour
- 1 3/4 cups Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Butter cut into cubes
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 3/4 cup Canola Oil
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons Red Food Coloring may do less depending on preference
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 2 – 8- ounce pkgs. Cream Cheese room temperature and softened
- 12 Tablespoons Butter 3/4 cup, softened
- 4 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Vanilla Bean or 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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In a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Beat the butter into the flour mixture, one cube at a time. Continue to beat until it resembles coarse crumbs.
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In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, red food coloring, and vanilla.
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Add the buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and beat the batter until thoroughly mixed.
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Take a spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl.
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Spread into two greased 8 or 9-inch cake pans and smooth tops with a spatula.
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Bake for 16-22 minutes, depending on the depth of pans. If the cake layers are thin, they will cook for less time than the thicker layers.
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Let cakes cool. Run a knife around edge of cake pan and flip over. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
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To make frosting:
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In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. If using a Kitchenaid mixer, use the whisk attachment.
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Add powdered sugar and mix until creamy.
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If using a vanilla bean, split vanilla bean in half and use the tip of the knife to scrape the vanilla bean paste from each side of the vanilla bean pod.
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If using vanilla extract, add to frosting and stir until combined.
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Spread on cooled red velvet cake. Cover tightly.
bitsandpieces 