Best Birthday Cake

I have set myself a challenge this week to post something every day. (I missed Wednesday.)   Recently I celebrated another decade (ugh) with a big party (hooray).  At my request, A friend who is a professional cake maker, made this absolutely devine red velvet cake.  I have not made it myself yet, but will definitely do it sometime in the future. It was moist, light, very chocolately and had the most delicious cream cheese icing.  I asked her not to use sugar paste, so she placed fresh roses on the top. Very feminine and beautiful and gobbled down by all the guests.

Jo’s Red Velvet Cake

Yummy… Can’t stop eating it.

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter at room temperature
350 g plain flour
3 Tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon red paste food colour (recommended ‘Red Extra’ by Sugarflair)
40g cocoa powder (Dutch process of Green & Black)
250 ml buttermilk
1 teaspon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon salt (you can omit this if you like)
350 g castor sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
250 g unsalted butter
500 g icing sugar
400 g cream cheese (or mascarpone) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation method

Preheat oven to 170 C.

Grease and line 2 x 8” cake tins.
Mix together buttermilk and red food colouring
Sift the flour, bicarb, salt and cocoa powder
Beat the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs a little at a time.
Mix well.
Turn your mixer to low and add 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture and1/3 of the flour mixture.
Repeat until everything is added.
Stir in the vinegar.
Divide between your tins and bake at 170 C for 40 minutes. (Adjust according to your oven.)
Cool, then ice.

For the icing
Beat the butter until smooth
Slowly beat in the icing sugar, then the
cream cheese until combined.
Do not over beat, as it will become too thin.

Here is a slice for you.  Enjoy.

The Dessert Table.