Red Velvet Cake

I must say that I am not a great fan of red velvet cake, but my daughter Anelle certainly is.  I have tried various recipes.  In some,  the cake dries too fast, and others are just not all that.  However, I found a recipe from Southern Living that is very moist and my daughter says is the best one of all, even I liked it. It contains no vinegar and I think that could be the difference.  It's a beautiful cake, I must say.  It's a six layer cake.  I wanted all layers to be exactly the same, so I baked the layers individually in 9 inch round pans and it turned out beautifully.  I assure you this cake will make quite an impression.

                                                               lovely red batter

                                                       Red Velvet Cake


Ingredients:                                    Yield: 16 servings


1 cup unsalted butter softened

2 1/2 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 (1 ounce) bottles red food coloring  (I buy my red food coloring at Target, sold by the ounce)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy, add eggs one a time, beating after each one.  In separate bowl sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed until well blended.  I always stir my batter with a spatula to make sure all is well incorporated.  Stir in vanilla extract and food coloring.

  Grease and flour baking pans.  To make sure all pans contain same amount of batter I measured 2 cups plus 2 1/2 tablespoons in each pan.  I know it sounds a little paranoid, but I wanted the exact measure in each pan so the layers would be identical.  Bake for 18 minutes or until inserter comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting


2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 (16 ounce) packages powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy.  (I always sift my powdered sugar for smoothness and no lumps).  Gradually add powdered sugar beating until light and fluffy.  Stir in vanilla.


Enjoy