Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting

Until I made this cake I had never ever had a red velvet cake before. It's not a type of cake that automatically pops in my head when I think "I want cake". It's very American in origin and popularity and not one that I've seen in shops here. Excuse my ignorance but I had always thought that all a red velvet cake is is a red coloured sponge. It didn't excite me. But thanks to my very discerning cousin's suggestion that I try to make one I now know better.

After baking and eating one I can say that the red velvet cake lives up to it's name. The colour of the cake is rich and bright and very pretty and contrasts so well with the clean white of the cream cheese frosting. The taste and texture is just amazing. A complete mouthful of this cake should make you think velvety yet fluffy, airy yet substantial. It's light enough to not feel dry but full enough yet not dense. You will taste and smell a very playful hint of chocolate without it being overly chocolatey. It's a sexy cake, even the batter is sexy in colour and texture. It's really hard to describe but all you need to know is this ... it's amazing!

I looked at many recipes online and decided to adapt the cake from Epicurously and my own cream cheese frosting. It's a match made in heaven! It's not an easy add it all in one bowl and stir type of cake but if you follow the required steps and components, I promise you the end product will be delicious.

Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
35ml red liquid food colouring
125g softened butter
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda

Cream Cheese Frosting
125g softened butter
500g cream cheese
3 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 cups icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line the bottom of 2 x 22cm round cake tins or 1 deep one. I used a deep one and cut the cake into 3 layers when it cooled. It's a personal choice. Easier to to have multiple cans.

2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set side.

3. In a small bowl stir the cocoa powder and food colouring into a paste. Try to make it as lumpless as possible.

4. Cream butter and sugar until light and pale. Add eggs in one at a time. Then add vanilla and cocoa paste. Beat batter well until the colour is even all the way through.

5. Mix in a third of the flour to the mix. Beat well then add half cup of buttermilk. Then mix another third of the flour, then the rest of the buttermilk and finally the remaining flour. Beat until everything is mixed well. Scrape the sides of bowl down to make sure everything gets incorporated into batter.
*** The batter will now look rich and luscious and velvety and just sexy!!!***

6. Mix vinegar and bicarb of soda. It will start to fizzle and froth. Stir this through the batter quickly with a wooden spoon until combined.

7. Put batter in cake tin or tins depending on what you decide to do. If cooking in multiple tins bake for 25-30 minutes. If baking all that batter in one tin it will take about 60-70 minutes. Check by sliding a skewer into the thickest part of the cake. If skewer comes out clean cake is cooked.

8. Put aside to cool. I decided to cut cake into 3 layers but only cut when cake is completely cool.

9. Make frosting by beating butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Then add icing sugar and mix well. Pipe or decorate any which way you like.

10. I added frosting between the layers and then crumb coated the cake. I then piped rose swirls around the cake and topped with silver balls and sprinkles of edible red glitter.