Red Velvet Cake

Luscious Red Velvet Cake, with pretty cream cheese frosting roses

When I was a teenager, my family was transplanted from western Canada to rural Mississippi for a short time. That year brought daily lessons of culture shock, the main one of course was the food. I have many memories of shiver-inducing food, however, I did fall in love with one dessert: Red Velvet Cake. This moist, sweet, beautifully red cake with its tangy white frosting was a wonderful treat; not quite birthday cake, not quite chocolate cake, but something unique and new to me.

This would make a unique wedding cake

The batter gets its neon red hue from food colouring, so don't use any plastic bowls when making this recipe or they may get stained. 

Have I mentioned that I love red velvet cake?

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

Cake

Based on a recipe by Bakerella

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil, such as canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp red food colouring gel
(I used Super Red from Americolor, you can buy it here)
 - or - 2 oz. liquid food colouring
2-1/2 cups all purpose flouR
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 - 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar

Method for Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. 
2. In a large bowl, gently whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla and food colouring until combined. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa until combined. Add wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for one minute. Pour batter into prepared pans, and thump on the counter a couple of times to release air pockets. 
4. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. 

Method for Frosting

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add vanilla and icing sugar, and mix until smooth and totally combined. 
2. Frost cake using whatever method makes you smile; this is how I did mine. No real technique here, I just made spirals with a large open star shaped tip (such as Wilton 1M). Looks pretty, doesn't it?

This column first appeared in Stimuli Magazine. Check out my column

'Just Desserts' for more sweet and delicious recipes!