I need a food icon
So, tonight I've got the house to myself. And I'm making myself a birthday cake.
I'm sure you're all thinking, "No! Making your own cake is just wrong!"
But it's not. I *like* cooking...especially baking. I'm a trained cake decorator. And I get twitchy when other people do things in my kitchen - especially so when it's something special. And the thing is, if I'm going to the effort of making a cake for myself, it's gonna be something I like.
In reviewing the recipe, I realized why this cake in particular is never as good from a box. MY recipe for Red Velvet Cake is an old fashioned sort of thing, including buttermilk and vinegar...which are not typical cake ingredients. It also turns out much more dense than the average cake.
And so, without further ado,
Red Velvet Cake
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp cocoa
2 oz red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
2 1/4 c flour
Mix vinegar and baking soda in a small cup and set aside.
Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs.
Make paste of cocoa and a small amount of food coloring (grandma says you can skip this part, as it's rather messy, and just add each ingredient to the bowl). Add to creamed mixture. Add remaining food coloring.
Add vanilla, buttermilk, salt, and flour alternately.
Stir baking soda and vinegar, and add to the rest; mix well.
Pour into 2 8" round cake pans (grease and flour these).
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Toothpick inserted should come out clean; be cautious not to over-bake.
Frosting:
I personally dislike this frosting...but it's presented here for completeness. Traditionally, each layer is split in half to create 4 layers, so I'm presenting both the amount of frosting to frost between all those, and a modified version that will work better if you just keep the two layers.
1 1/2 c milk (1 c)
1/2 c flour (1/3 c)
1 1/2 c sugar (1 c)
1 1/2 c oleo/margarine (1 c)
1 Tbsp vanilla (1 1/2 tsp vanilla)
Mix milk and flour. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick. Cool completely
Cream sugar, oleo, and vanilla until fluffy. Add cooked milk mix slowly, beating constantly.
And for further cooking amusement, decorator icing (the reason most store-bought cakes make me shudder....because nothing is as good as this):
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
1 1/3 c shortening
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla (and if you want super sparkly perfectly white icing, splurge on the clear imitation vanilla - but the only people who will know the difference between it and the real thing are cake decorators)
Put this all in a mixer, and beat 7-10 minutes until fluffy.
When we first got a kitchenaid mixer, I realized that the problem with a wonderfully powerful mixer is that it tends to make the shortening a bit too soft - for decorating, I put this in the fridge for an hour or so, then take it back out, color as desired, and ice and decorate as usual. Otherwise, the icing as it comes out of the decorating bag doesn't hold its shape.
I'm sure you're all thinking, "No! Making your own cake is just wrong!"
But it's not. I *like* cooking...especially baking. I'm a trained cake decorator. And I get twitchy when other people do things in my kitchen - especially so when it's something special. And the thing is, if I'm going to the effort of making a cake for myself, it's gonna be something I like.
In reviewing the recipe, I realized why this cake in particular is never as good from a box. MY recipe for Red Velvet Cake is an old fashioned sort of thing, including buttermilk and vinegar...which are not typical cake ingredients. It also turns out much more dense than the average cake.
And so, without further ado,
Red Velvet Cake
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp cocoa
2 oz red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
2 1/4 c flour
Mix vinegar and baking soda in a small cup and set aside.
Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs.
Make paste of cocoa and a small amount of food coloring (grandma says you can skip this part, as it's rather messy, and just add each ingredient to the bowl). Add to creamed mixture. Add remaining food coloring.
Add vanilla, buttermilk, salt, and flour alternately.
Stir baking soda and vinegar, and add to the rest; mix well.
Pour into 2 8" round cake pans (grease and flour these).
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Toothpick inserted should come out clean; be cautious not to over-bake.
Frosting:
I personally dislike this frosting...but it's presented here for completeness. Traditionally, each layer is split in half to create 4 layers, so I'm presenting both the amount of frosting to frost between all those, and a modified version that will work better if you just keep the two layers.
1 1/2 c milk (1 c)
1/2 c flour (1/3 c)
1 1/2 c sugar (1 c)
1 1/2 c oleo/margarine (1 c)
1 Tbsp vanilla (1 1/2 tsp vanilla)
Mix milk and flour. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick. Cool completely
Cream sugar, oleo, and vanilla until fluffy. Add cooked milk mix slowly, beating constantly.
And for further cooking amusement, decorator icing (the reason most store-bought cakes make me shudder....because nothing is as good as this):
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
1 1/3 c shortening
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla (and if you want super sparkly perfectly white icing, splurge on the clear imitation vanilla - but the only people who will know the difference between it and the real thing are cake decorators)
Put this all in a mixer, and beat 7-10 minutes until fluffy.
When we first got a kitchenaid mixer, I realized that the problem with a wonderfully powerful mixer is that it tends to make the shortening a bit too soft - for decorating, I put this in the fridge for an hour or so, then take it back out, color as desired, and ice and decorate as usual. Otherwise, the icing as it comes out of the decorating bag doesn't hold its shape.