Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

red velvet cake

This is a favourite cake of my children. It’s a dense cake with flavourful frosting. If you are looking for a fluffy cake, this should not be the cake you make. Recipe credit for the cake goes to Paula Deen. I have made few minor changes in the recipe to suit our taste. I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday and I made it a rectangular single layer cake instead of multiple layer cake. My daughter as well as her friends loved the cake and the frosting. This is a keeper recipe; I am planning to do it again during Thanksgiving when my son comes.

Ingredients

For the cake

2 cups Sugar

2 ½ cups Cake Flour

2 sticks Butter(1/2 pound, 8oz)

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup butter milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 table spoon vinegar

½ teaspoon baking soda

8 drops of red food color(you can add color according to your taste)

For the frosting

1 8oz cream cheese package

1 stick butter (4 oz)

3 cups confectioners powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Pre heat the oven to 350 degree F. Take a rectangular pan 9 by 13. I used 11 by 15 glass pan as it would be good for bake and serve. Grease the pan and flour it.

Take a wide bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy to a creamy texture. Add eggs one at a time. Beat after adding each one of them.

Mix cocoa powder, salt and sifted cake flour together in a separate bowl. Add buttermilk and flour mix in turns to the sugar, butter mixture. Add the color. Mix it.

Take a small bowl mix vinegar and baking soda, it will frizz for few minutes. Add that mixture. Add vanilla and mix it well .

Pour the batter into the pan and bake it for 30 min (aluminum pan) Glass pan (35 mintes) or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I covered the pan corners with aluminum foil to avoid drying.

If you would like to make layered cake use three 8 inch round pans.

Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting, otherwise frosting will melt and it will be a mess.

Frosting method

Bring butter, cream cheese to room temperature. Use electric mixer and beat well for about 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat again for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and blend well. More powdered sugar can be added if you need stiff frosting for decoration. If you want to decorate the cake, double the frosting.

Fruit Syrup (optional)

I topped the frosting with the fruit syrup.

Heat 12 oz of mixed berries with 1/3-cup sugar, cook for 15 minutes. No need to add water. The fruits will ooze out water. Once cooled pour it on the frosted cake or while serving the cake can be topped with the syrup and fruits.

Pictures step by step

Cake Batter before adding color