Red Velvet Cake

Whenever it comes to baking a cake , it’s mostly chocolate cakes which rule the list. I think most of you chocolate lovers would agree to that. But this time for xmas I decided to bake a cake which is not chocolatey for a change. After some thought, I decided to try out this bright red creamy goodness:-) and it definitely does go with the season too doesn’t it ?:-)

Red always is a colour which has its own vibrance and energy that comes with it and not to forget it is the colour of love and velvet always gives a royal look and feel for a fabric. So a combination of these two can never be less rich or royale. That sums up to an extent what this cake is. The first time I tasted this cake was at a friends birthday party and I developed an instant liking for this cake. And later I chose this as our engagement cake with a pastel blue frosting – a yum special cake for a special occasion. I always used to think of baking this dreamy cake and finally convinced myself to to try out this red velvet goodness from scratch..

This recipe as such gives a moist and soft texture ( because of oil being used instead of butter). But the key highlight in this recipe is the cream cheese frosting. Red velvet cakes are never complete without this frosting. So though you can use any simple vanilla or butter frosting this cream cheese frosting is a sure boost for this yummy cake. So if you can convince yourself to forget counting calories consumed for a while, then indulge into this festive treat:-)

Recipe source : divascancook.com

Recipe – Cake

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened, cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil or canola

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-2 oz. Red food coloring, more or less depending on how deep you want the color

½ cup plain hot coffee, prepared (don’t skip this ingredient)

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Steps

Preheat oven to 325 f.

Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.

Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.

Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing after each addition, just until combined. (batter will be thin)

Pour the batter evenly into each pan.

Bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Do not over bake as the cake will continue to cook as it cools.

Let pans cool on a cooling rack until the pans are warm to the touch.

Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.

Gently remove the cakes from the pan and let them finish cooling. (the warm cake will be very delicate)

Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.

Recipe – Cream cheese frosting

500 g cream cheese, room temperature

200 gm unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar powdered

Steps

1.In a large bowl cream together cream cheese and butter.

2.Mix in vanilla extract.

3.Gradually mix in powdered sugar.

4.Let frosting set in the fridge for a few hours to firm up if needed.

5.Store in refrigerator.

Enjoy