Red Velvet

I am cake girl, watch me bake...for the first time. I do bake but bake well? Nuh-uh and bake red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting? Never. Regardless of my obvious love for cake and equally obvious inexperience a few days ago when it was bright, clear and crisp outside I spent my afternoon baking and I was so surprised at how easy it was to achieve this look even with my messy streak and knack for burning absolutely everything I had to share. So this recipe will make an 8" diameter cake with frosting all over (I had some left over).

You'll need:
For the cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened, cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 medium eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1-2 oz. red food coloring
1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar
½ cup of prepared plain hot coffee (don’t skip this ingredient)

For the cream cheese frosting:
150g/5½oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
45g/3 tbsp caster sugar
300g/10½oz full fat cream cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.
Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at time, mixing after each addition, just until combined. Generously grease and flour two round, 9 inch cake pans with shortening and flour.
Pour the batter evenly into each pan.
Bake in the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake as cake will continue to cook as it cools.
Let cool on a cooling rack until the pans are warm to the touch.
Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.
Remove the cakes from the pan and let them cool.

Once cool you can frost. Here's how to make the frosting:
Place the butter in a large bowl with the caster sugar.
Beat the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
Then beat in the cream cheese until smooth.

Recipes originally from Divas Can Cook and BBC Good Food.

The only thing I wish were different was the colour as I'm sure it's supposed to be more red than the burgandy colour I ended up with however since I will be making this again (over and over again) I'll add in more food colouring next time and see if it makes a difference. The cake itself was moist, chocolatey which worked so well with the cream cheese frosting, soft and not stodgy or dense - completely perfect for an afternoon snack with a big latte.

Let me know if you try this but I'll have you know now, I am still the reigning Cake Queen