Red Velvet Cake

I baked this red velvet cake and... oh my goodness... the batter alone is most definitely what dreams are made of. Trust me! I've scoured the internet and I've read a lot of comments on what a true red velvet is. There's all kinds of different information out there. What seems to be consistent is that the cake was made famous by New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Which is strange to me because I always considered it a Southern Cake...  I mean Hello... On Steel Magnolias the groom's cake for Shelby's wedding was an armadillo shaped red velvet! But all historical information aside, this cake is a winner! I was really interested in trying a roux based frosting for this cake, but I decided to go with cream cheese because I was just too lazy to make the roux.

I threw out all the extra frosting before I realized I could have piped some pretty borders on it. It would have definitely covered up my bad icing job. But even though I think it's a little plain, my son gave me tons of encouragement by telling me how pretty it is. Love that kid!

And since it's my husband's birthday tomorrow, I decided to do an early blowing out of the birthday cake. Mostly because I was eager to cut a slice and I'm not baking another cake for tomorrow (he's getting a birthday cobbler). And also because my oldest just loves the whole thing... the song, the cheering, and especially blowing out them candles. He's a hoot! 

Red Velvet Cake

recipe from Hummingbird bakery

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 egg

5 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

4 Tablespoons red food coloring mixed with 2 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Turn mixer to high and add  the eggs.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined.  You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and salt and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour.  Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.

Spoon batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

Let rest in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

recipe from Hummingbird Bakery

4 2/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, cold 

Beat the powdered sugar, and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed.

Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.

Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy. Do not over-beat as the frosting can become runny.

Extras

-I used 2 9-inch pans, but sliced the cake into four layers and I ended up needing double the frosting.

-I froze my cakes after it completely cooled because I read that it made cakes extra moist. I could not tell the difference, but it might be a trial and error kind of thing. 

-I only had one 2 oz bottle of red food coloring (McCormick Red) so I added an additional 1/4 tsp of gel (Americolor Super Red).