Bake 52 Week 45: Red Velvet Layer Cake

It was my week to host and since Jonathan and I both love Red Velvet and I've never made a two layer cake I picked this!

I made the cake on Saturday night and frosted it Sunday morning...

I started by preparing the cake pans...

Earlier I had set out the ingedients that needed to be room temperature.

I used powdered butter milk, so I set out the powder and a cup of water.  Once everything was room temperature I got started.

First I blended the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients and finally the red paste... Look at how dark the cocoa and food coloring look!

Once those bowls were ready I creamed the butter and sugar in my Kitchenaid mixer. 

Next I alternated the flour mix with the liquid mix, ending with the flour.

Finally I added the red paste.

Isn't that pretty?  After mixing it by hand to make sure everything was uniformly red I split the mix between the prepared cake pans.

Ready to go in the oven!  After 25 minutes at 350 they were done!

Ten minutes later flipped them out on a cooling rack.  They came right out!

I left them to cool overnight.  I was a little worried about them drying out but I figured the frosting would take care of that...

Sunday morning I got the frosting going.  I had left the butter and cream cheese out over night to soften.

Everything except the sugar, ready to mix.

Ready to add the sugar...

Fluffy and ready to go!  I put the cake on some strips of parchment paper.  The strips were so thick I only had to use three!  :-)

I really wanted to get a good distribution of frosting between the layers and on top/outside.  So I tried to make sure I had a full cup of frosting for the top of the bottom cake.  Next time I think I'll target more like a cup and a half because it was a bit skimpy...

After spreading out the first layer I added the second cake and frosted the top of it. 

The final step was to frost the sides...

All done!  I tried to use all four cups of frosting but couldn't quite do it...

Another reason to use more in the middle... 

By the time I was done frosting the cake the frosting was looking a little runny, so I stuck it in the fridge for a bit to set up the frosting. 

A little later we dug in...

This huge piece is one eighth of the cake!  Jonathan and I split it.

Yummy!!  The cream cheese frosting was nice, definitely cream cheese but not over poweringly cream cheese.  The cake was surprisingly chocolately considering it only had 2 tablespoons of cocoa.  I'm tempted to have another piece even though I just finished the first one 30 minutes ago. 

All in all very easy and very tasty... I highly recommend this.

RED VELVET LAYER CAKE

SERVES 8 to 10

For the cake to have the proper rise and color, you must use natural cocoa powder; do not substitute Dutch-processed cocoa.  Although Cream Cheese Frosting is traditional with this cake, Vanilla Frosting and vanilla Buttercream work well too.

CAKE

2       tablespoons natural cocoa powder (see note above), plus more for dusting pans

2 ¼   cups (11 ¼ ounces) all-purpose flour

1 ½   teaspoons baking soda

         Pinch salt

1         cup buttermilk, room temperature

2         large eggs, room temperature

1         tablespoon white vinegar

1         teaspoon vanilla extract

2         tablespoons (1 ounce) red food coloring

12     tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

1 ½   cups (10 ½ ounces) sugar

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (4 CUPS)

2       (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

10     tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

2       tablespoons sour cream

½      teaspoon vanilla extract

¼      teaspoon salt

2       cups (8 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

1.        FOR THE CAKE:  Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9-inch cake pans, then dust with cocoa powder and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2.        Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.  In another medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and vanilla together.  In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the cocoa and red food coloring together to a smooth paste.

3.        In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk mixture.  Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk mixture.  Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just combined.  Beat in the cocoa mixture until the batter is uniform. 

4.        Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and gently tap the pans on the counter to settle the batter.  Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.

5.        Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes.  Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes, then flip them out onto a wire rack.  Peel off the parchment paper, flip the cakes right side up, and let cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours. 

6.        FOR THE FROSTING:  Beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 4 minutes

7.        Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, and beat until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes.  Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes. 

8.        Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper to keep the platter clean while you assemble the cake.  Place one of the cake layers on the platter.  Spread 1 cup of the frosting over the top, right to the edge of the cake.  Place the other cake layer on top and press gently to adhere.  Frost the cake with the remaining frosting and remove the parchment strips from the platter before serving.