Ummm...

So I was going through my earlier photo albums on iPhoto and lo and behold! An album of my earliest red velvet cake!


At first I was taken aback. I thought, "who made this shitty cake?" And then it hit me; in my family of five, there are only three people that bake; my mother, who's creations are beautiful, my sister, who does it out of a box, and me.

Can we please look at this again?


How ugly is that?

Not to fear though, the time stamp reads October 29th, 2008. Which means I have three years under my belt and I will prove to you in a timely manner that I'm capable of baking cakes that doesn't look like someone vommed all over giant round steaks.


Here is the recipe, courtesy of the Food Network, and my shining light, Paula Deen:

Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients:
Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cocoa
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 tsp vinegar
1 (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Cream Cheese frosting:
1/2 cup margarine ( I know...since when does Paula use margarine?)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 box confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped lightly toasted pecans

Directions:
For the Cake:
Pre heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round layer cake pans.

Sift flour, baking soda and cocoa together. Beat sugar and eggs together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together oil, vinegar, food coloring, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of eggs and sugar and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet mixture by alternating the buttermilk and dry ingredients. Always start with the flour and end with the flour.

Pour batter into pans. Tap them on the table to level out the batter and release air bubbles. Bake for 2 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake though, or you'll end up with a dry cake!

Let the layers cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of the pan. Cool completely before frosting. (This is VERY important).

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
Let margarine and cream cheese soften to room temperature. Cream well. Add sugar and beat until mixed but not so much that the frosting becomes "loose". Add vanilla and nuts. Spread between layers and on top and sides of cake.

NOTE: The above recipe is from the Food Network, but there are a couple things I would like to add; frosting always tastes better when made with butter. I've had frosting made with margarine or crisco, and I'm just not a fan. Furthermore, before frosting the cake, it's important (or helpful) to do a "dirty frosting". It's also known as a "crumb coat"; apply a thin layer of icing to the top and sides of the cake, and put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Take it out, and frost the cake. "Dirty frosting" makes it easier to frost the cake without worrying about the crumbs.

Hope you have fun!
Steph