Red Velvet Cake

Hi all,

sorry for the long hiatus. Many things have been going on since I last posted.

Here are some of what I have been cooking/baking the last month or so. I still bake/cook - but i always end up forgetting to take pictures of them.

This is the last slice of a beautiful red velvet cake that I baked for my sister's 24th birthday!!

Here's the recipe! Taken from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

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

Directions

1. Grease two 9 inch round pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Set aside.
2. Combine the buttermilk, salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 1/2 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, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the icing, I used, again, allrecipes.com 's cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.