Bloody Great Red Velvet Cake

This is definitely the best red velvet cake I have ever eaten - and I’ve had lots! Because I love red velvet. Who doesn't? The key is to use good quality ingredients and not overuse the red dye. Often when eating some red velvet cakes, I feel they taste too much like food coloring and not enough of the rest of the ingredients. Instead of making a full cake, you can also opt for making cupcakes and decorating them as you please.

Cake Ingredients:

2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons of cake flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of good quality coco powder
1 cup of confectioners sugar
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of soften unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
2 tablespoons of red velvet food coloring
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of white vinegar

Cake Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Brush grease on two 8-inch round baking pans. Add one tablespoon of flour to each and tilt from side to side, allowing the pan to become completely covered by the flour. Place in the refrigerator.

3. To a large bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar and coco powder. Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. I try to use cake flour for any cake I make, because it makes for a softer consistency. If you do not have cake flour at home or available at your supermarket, you can use regular all-purpose flour.

4. To a separate bowl, add the butter, and whip until you see ribbons form.

5. slowly add the confectioners sugar. Continue mixing until very smooth. The use of confectioners sugar versus regular sugar also contributes to a softer cake.

6. Now add one egg at a time, mixing each one in before adding another, followed by the remaining wet ingredients. Mix well.

7. After all the wet ingredients are well mixed, slowly introduce the dry ingredients you had previously mixed and set aside. The mixture should be very red and with a velvety smooth consistency.

8. Remove the two-floured 8-inch pans from the refrigerator and add half of the cake mixture to each.

9. Place the two pans in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until both cakes are completely cooked.

10. Remove the cakes from the pans and place onto a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes. The cakes should slide out easily. It is important that they cool down enough so the frosting does not melt off.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese
½ cup of soften unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract
1½ cups of concessioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon of buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting Preparation:

To a medium bowl add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and buttermilk. Mix until the consistency is smooth, then slowly add the sugar. Frost your cake as desired and enjoy!