Red Velvet Cake for Valentine's day
This cake is as American as apple pie. I had never heard about it before moving here, but it was love at first bite for me. But I quickly learned that not all cakes are made the same. The cake should be moist, light and fluffy. Most store bought cakes are dense and on the dry side.
I think my care fulfilled the three criteria. I added a splash of coffee to enhance the cocoa flavor, but it will also darken the red color, but I think it's worth it.
Ingredients:
Cake:
1 cup (210 g) safflower oil
300 g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
2 eggs
225 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
20 g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon strong cold coffee
1 cup (250 g) buttermilk
1 oz (30 ml) red food coloring
Frosting:
200 g cream cheese, room temperature
120 g salted butter, room temperature
250 g confectionary sugar
1 lemon, the juice of
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9 inch cake pan with baking spray. I also put a round sheet of parchment paper in the pan, to be sure that the cake comes out smooth.
Stir together buttermilk, vinegar, coffee and red food coloring. Set aside.
Cream together oil and sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer. Mix in the eggs.
Add Cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and buttermilk mixture and mix well Lastly add the flour and mix until it's just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
Pour batter into cake pans, and level off the surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for a while, and cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting:
Cream the butter and cream cheese with the confectionary sugar and the lemon juice. Whip the frosting for about 5 minutes to get a light and fluffy frosting.
Place one cake on a cake stand, spread about half the frosting on the cake. Add the next cake on top, and finish the cake by spreading the rest of the frosting on top of the cake.
Enjoy, and happy valentines.