red velvet

My mother has always loved red velvet cake. My great grandmother used to make them. My grandmother gets her one every year for her birthday. Everyone knows that red velvet is my mom's cake. Josh is also a huge red velvet cake fan. It is his favorite too. My graduation was on Josh's birthday this past August so I made him a homemade red velvet cake so he didn't feel like I completely took his day. I had never made a red velvet cake much less one from scratch so I was worried. Red velvet is not my favorite and I really don't like cream cheese icing so I couldn't taste it to see if it was ok. I found a recipe for the cake with a ton of good reviews. I experimented and made my own icing because my mom likes sweet icing with a hint of cream cheese instead of just pure cream cheeses icing. I bought all of the ingredients, made the cake, and waited for everyone to try it to see if it was acceptable. IT WAS GREAT! Half of the cake got eaten that day and I sent the other half home with my mom. My dad has been asking for the recipe so I figured I would share it with all of you!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ounce red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oil
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Icing
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
4 sticks/2 cups salted butter
1 8 oz tub of cream cheese.

Directions
1. Grease two 9 inch round pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . In a small bowl, make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Set aside.

2. Combine the buttermilk, salt and vanilla. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the oil and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the cocoa mixture. Beat in the buttermilk mixture alternately with the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Stir together baking soda and vinegar, then gently fold into the cake batter.

3. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes (start checking the cake about 5 minutes before), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

4. To Make Icing: Mix together the sugar, butter and ¾ of the cream cheese. You can add more cream cheese to your taste.