Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake is a very good cake to serve at a holiday get-together. The fact that it's red goes along with the red-and-green Christmas color theme.

Here's a recipe for a 2-tiered red velvet cake. This recipe makes 12 servings, but you can cut it in half if you're having a smaller wedding. The icing is somewhat different from the cream-cheese icing you'll see on some cakes, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

You'll need two 9” round pans.

Cake

2 eggs

2 oz red food coloring

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 cups buttermilk

½ cups shortening

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp salt

Frosting

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup milk

5 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease the pans.

For the cake-

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, salt and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the shortening and sugar and stir until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then, combine the cocoa and food coloring in a small bowl to make a paste and add to the rest of the mixture. Add the flour and buttermilk mixture and stir until just combined.

Add the vinegar and baking soda and pour into the pans. Bake for 30 minutes and let cool.

For the frosting-

Using low heat, combine the flour and milk and stir until the mixture thickens. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, butter and vanilla and stir until you have a light and fluffy. Then, combine the flour mixture and the butter mixture and beat together until spreadable. I suggest refrigerating everything separately and constructing the cake shortly before serving.

Enjoy!