The Art That Is Red Velvet

For me, nothing says 'Happy Valentine's Day' like a red velvet cake with buttercream frosting. It is so wickedly tasty you will be looking for an excuse to make it again and again, not just in February. And yes, I know that Costco carries one beauty of a red velvet cake (which I have yet to try), but I am told it has a cream cheese frosting.

I'm here to tell you, friends, that is not the same thing.

Repeat after me: { Its all about the buttercream }

This recipe was handed down to me by my mother; she used to make this cake for my birthday each year. Come to think of it, I have never asked her where she got the recipe - but thats probably just was well. To me it will always be

Momma B's Red Velvet Cake.

Ingredients for cake:

-1/2 C Crisco

-1 1/2 C white sugar

-2 eggs

-2 oz. red food coloring

-1 t. vanilla

-1 t. salt

-1 C buttermilk

-2 1/4 C flour

-2 T cocoa

-1 t. baking soda

-1 t. vinegar

Ingredients for frosting:

-4 1/2 T flour

-1 1/2 C whole milk

-1 1/2 C butter

-1 1/2 C white sugar

-1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions:

Cream together the crisco, white sugar and eggs. Add the food coloring and vanilla.

Note: Don't stress if you feel like you're pouring your entire bottle of red food coloring into the mix; to ensure that your cake will be a deep red instead of a measly pink you need to use a LOT of coloring.

Now, when you make this cake as often as I do you splurge for the gigantic bottle of red food coloring. I find mine at my local Cash & Carry store.

This sucka has its own zip code.

{WARNING}

Be advised that adding such a large amount of food coloring can be hazardous. At this stage in the game you might want to dig out that plastic shield doohickee that attaches to the top of your mixing bowl to prevent anything from splashing out of the bowl.

I do not have one of these shields. Personally I feel like they get in the way more than they help, but hey, thats just me.

What I'm trying to say is be careful with the red. Wear a red shirt while you bake. Use your red rags and dish towels for clean up, if you have some.

Trust me when I tell you this red food coloring does not like to come out of stuff.

Okay, moving on...

Dissolve the 1 teaspoon salt in the 1 cup buttermilk. Slowly add this to your mixture, alternating with the addition of the flour and cocoa.

In a small bowl dissolve the 1 teaspoon baking soda with 1 teaspoon vinegar.

{Pause for a moment here to fondly remember when you did this baking soda and vinegar science experiment as a child. I'm 30 and I still think its cool to watch it fizzle.}

Then add the baking soda and vinegar concoction to your mixture.

Now you're ready to get bakin'!

I always make this into a two layer cake. This time of year I use my heart-shaped pans (another gift from - who else? - Momma B).

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

**You really want to be careful not to overbake this cake, even by a smidge, otherwise it gets pretty dry.**


Now for the real magic:

{THE FROSTING}

Start by whisking the flour into the milk in a saucepan, then heat the mixture slowly until its really thick, stirring consistently to avoid clumps.

(Tip: You can use whatever % milk you have on hand. Up until I had my son we never had anything other than nonfat milk in the fridge. But last year I threw in some of Kendry's whole milk and was amazed at the difference - both in the easier preparation and the wonderful flavor. Let's face it, if you are making this frosting in all its fattening glory, why skimp when it comes to the milk?)

Once this mixture has thickened up, remove it from heat and let it cool completely.

In the meantime, cream together your butter, white sugar and vanilla. Once your flour/milk mixture has cooled, mix that in as well. Then beat it all into submission.


Once your cake has cooled completely you are ready to frost it. This year I followed Martha Stewart's advice and did an initial "crumb coat", after which you let the cake chill for about 20 minutes. Then you finish frosting. The crumb coat helps keep the red crumbs from messing up your beautiful white frosting job.

And because I was feeling inspired - and this particular cake was for a very special lady - I busted out my cake decorating kit.

This simple set from Pampered Chef has been worth every penny.

Polka dots, anyone?

Doesn't she look yummy?!

The final step:

Throw a pink candle on top of the cake, pull up a chair and celebrate with a special gal in honor of her 90th birthday.

She wished for another 90 great years.

(Whoops! She wasn't supposed to say that out loud, was she?)