Red Velvet Cake

Guess what I made? Certainly not a particular cake that is the colour of love. Not a cake that is associated with a certain holiday dedicated to lurv. Okay, I did. Red velvet cake can not be denied right now. As I said, it is love time.

I have made red velvet cake before but thought I would try out a different recipe. This recipe from smitten kitchen uses a lot of cocoa powder in terms of red velvet cake. It actually made the cocoa have a purpose and taste in the cake but still kept that tangy flavour that red velvet cake is known for. It's a very moist and a deep red cake. Perfect for lovin'.

Red Velvet Cake

From smitten kitchen

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring or 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring dissolved in 6 tablespoons of water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar.
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting. Makes 3 9" cake layers*

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cup butter

1/4 tsp vanilla

3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until it is creamy and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar in 1/2 cup portions. Beat until combined. Frost the cooled cakes.

* I opted to make a smaller cake and it made 3 6" cake layers and about 12 cupcakes. The cake layers had to bake for about 30 to 35 minutes and the cupcakes were only about 20 minutes.