I found this red velvet cake recipe on www.joyofbaking.com. It looked so enticing I simply had to give it a go, and I was not disappointed! With its striking bright red colour that is offset by a creamy white frosting, sprinkled with coconut, this cake is sure to impress.
Ingredients:
Cake:
250 g sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
113 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
300 g granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract (if you can afford it!)
240 ml buttermilk
2 tablespoons liquid red food colouring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream cheese icing:
360 ml heavy whipping cream
227 g cream cheese, room temperature
227 g tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla essence/extract
115 g icing sugar, sifted
Method:
Cake:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C and place rack in the middle of the oven. Butter two 23 cm round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, salt and cocoa powder and set aside.
Using an electric mixer beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat till combined.
Whisk the buttermilk with the red food colouring. Then, with the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 – 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for at least an hour. (This is done to make frosting the cakes easier).
Cream Cheese Icing:
With a mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone until smooth. Add the vanilla and icing sugar and mix until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl.
Then, using an electric mixer again, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour or until it is firm enough to spread.
To assemble, use a serrated knife to cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of icing. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with coconut.
