As I'm waiting for my sincerely ancient oven to get to temperature,
I'll give y'all the recipe for the Red Velvet Cake that I've made and
am waiting to bake. If you're from the northeast, I'm told the regional designation for this deeesert
is "Waldorf Cake." Same diff.
Ya ready? Okedokey, then. Here we go.
For the cake:
2 1/2 Cups sifted cake flour (and that's CAKE FLOUR, not ALL-PURPOSE)
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 ounces red food coloring
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the over to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two (9-inch) cake
pans. In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking
powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and
butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Alternately add flour mixture and
buttermilk. Beat in food coloring, vinegar, then add the vanilla.
Spread batter eveninly into the pans. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until a
wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn out
onto a rack to cool.
TIPS FROM THE BABE O' BAKING: 1.Yes, you must sift the flour
and you MUST use CAKE flour. I'm repeating myself, but all-purpose just
doesn't work here. Trust me on this one. Chip out two and a quarter for
the box of Softasilk. You'll thank me. 2. Have I mentioned that you
need to sift the dry ingredients? It's an absolute must-do sort of
thing. It's a pain I know, but you'll thank me when your cake batter
doesn't turn out to be full of lumps. 3. You don't need 2 ounces of
food coloring. One small, separately-sold, bottle of food coloring will
turn your cake a nice reddish color.
4. I add vanilla like a drunken sailor drinks a bottle of
whisky---liberally and messily. I don't think you can have too much
vanilla---ever
5. If you're like me and you've been spoiled by cake mixes that produce
moist results, you'll want to add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
to the batter when all is said and done. Disregard if you like dry
cake. Ok, now you're ready for the frosting, right?
You will need:
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
In a large bowl cream the cream cheese and butter. Beat in
confectioner's sugar until fluffy, then add vanilla. Use frosting to
fill and ice cake. Pretty tasty, on the whole.