01.03.2012 Red Velvet Cake

This is the best red velvet cake I have ever had. Try it. Enough said.

So, I know I have some pretty terrible photography skills and this cake doesn't look like anything special in particular, but I promise you it's wonderful

Red Velvet Cake

Adapted from The Sono Baking Company

The recipe was initially made to make 12 cupcakes, but I decided to double the recipe and make a taller 9X9 round cake. I prefer a delicious slice of cake to a a single cupcake. 

Ingredients

For the Cake

2 cups buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla

2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 cup

3 cups sugar

2 tsp coarse salt

4 oz red food coloring

4 TB dutch unsweetened cocoa powder

4 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 TB white wine vinegar

For the Frosting (I didn't double this one because I was low on butter)

3 TB AP flour

1 cup milk

2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 cup

1 cup sugar

Pinch of coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 9X9 round cake pans
2. To make the cupcakes: In a medium bowl, combing the buttermilk and vanilla; set aside
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and salt on medium high until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. 
4. In a small bowl, stir the food coloring and the cocoa powder together to form a paste. (I skipped this step and guessed on the amount of food coloring because I used a concentrated gel food coloring. I added mine directly to the mixture above. It's all about the taste anyway, right?) Add to the butter-sugar mixture.
5. Starting with the flour, alternate adding the flour with the buttermilk mixture in three batches, ending with the flour. Let stand for 15 minutes. 
6. In a small bowl, stir together the baking soda and vinegar. Let stand until foamy; fold into the batter. Divide among cake pans.
7. Bake 20 - 25 minutes. ( I THINK it took me about 22. I'm not really a fan of timers...) Let cool and transfer to wire rack to finish cooling completely.
8. To make the frosting: In a saucepan, whisk the flour with 1/4 cup of the milk, smoothing out any lumps with a rubber spatula. Gradually whisk in the rest of the milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking, and cook for 1 minute. Set aside to cool. 
9. In the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the cooled milk and but until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream, 7-10 minutes. 
10. Frost, eat, and enjoy!