Red Velvet Cake

This isn't really a post for baby, but rather a post dedicated to an amazing red velvet cake I made. This cake, is filled with all the yummy goodness. 3 amazingly moist layers separated with a rich cream cheese frosting and then topped with that same cream cheese frosting.
This cake is deffinitely one that doesn't last long in our house. It took a few trials and errors to get this cake looking as perfect as it does, but once the right amount of each ingredient was finally accomplished the outcome was well deserved!
I got the recipe from a woman, who knew a women, who knew a man that had a cousin that could make amazing cakes! The recipe actually started off as blue velvet cupcakes and after the first failed attempt and green not so velvety cupcakes it changed to red velvet cupcakes and soon became the 3 layered red velvet cake you see in the picture. Yes! That very one!

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups flour (I use all-purpose)
• 1 large bar dark chocolate (about 8 or 9 ounces), melted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 2 teaspoons lemon juice, let it sit for 5 min)
• 1 ounce red food coloring (this depends on how red you want the cake)
• 4 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Cream cheese frosting:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (if I can't find the fit cream cheese, mascarpone adds to the richness)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 16 ounces confectioners’ sugar (this can be a little sweet, so before adding all the sugar try it)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and mix all the dry ingredients, except sugar, together and set aside.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the eggs (best to do that one at a time to avoid mess). Then mix in the sour cream, milk, food colour, melted chocolate and vanilla. Put the mixer on a low speed and add the flour mixture one tablespoon at a time until all the flour is in and mixed, but don't over beat the mixture. Divide and spoon the batter into cake tins and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until a cake prick (or toothpick) comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pans for about 5 minutes before removing (doing it prematurely can cause the cake to break).
While you're waiting for the cake to cool, you can start to prepare the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla until light and fluffy (it usually works best if your cream cheese is really cold). Using a spatula or spoon (or whatever works best for you) scrape the edge of the bowl and mix it again to make sure everything is all mixed in well. Then add the sugar (slowly) and beat until smooth, you might want to try the mixture every now and then to make sure it's not too sweet for you. Once you have the right amount of sweetness frost the cooled cakes. You might have to make 1 1/2 - 2 recipes to get the whole cake perfectly frosted. I usually double the recipe and put the frosting on generously. Then decorate your cake the way you would like. In the picture, I used the crumbs of the cake that came from removing the cake from the tin (and trimming parts of it down to size).

Photograph by: Talya Garnett
I would like to thank the photographer, Talya Garnett, for such a lovely picture. You can find more of her art work at: Photograph My Memory