let them eat … cake!

It was my mother’s birthday on Saturday, so I figured a cake was in order. I made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, and it was pretty tasty. Peter refused to try it, claiming that the 2 tablespoons of cocoa in the ENTIRE recipe would keep him up. Right.
Anyway, the recipe I used is one I’ve had for a number of years. I found it online, and it apparently hails from the Buttercup Bakery, but that’s all I know. The result is very fluffy and light, kind of like a box cake! The recipe makes great cupcakes, too.
*See the napkin in the photo? Yes, we used napkins from Subway, because we are classy like that.
Read on for the recipe, yo!

RED VELVET CAKE – supposedly from the Buttercup Bakery
Makes a 3-layer, 9″ cake OR a batch of cupcakes (about 24)
Ingredients:
1 bottle of red food coloring (about 1/4 cup)
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs at room temp
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pans by greasing and flouring bottoms and sides. Line bottoms with parchment and grease and flour. (NOTE: the recipe says to prepare three 9″x2″ pans, but I think you’d be better off with three 8″x2″ pans or just two 9″x2″ pans. If you go with three 9″x2″ pans, you have pretty thin layers, and the frosting to cake ratio ends up a bit off, in my opinion.)
In a tiny bowl, combine the food coloring, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Whisk together and then set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Alternate the flour and the buttermilk (you want to add the flour in three parts), mixing well after each addition. Add the salt. Add the cocoa/food coloring combo and mix well.
In another wee bowl, mix together the vinegar and the baking soda. It will fizz, which is kind of fun. Add this to the batter at the very end, and mix well.
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Cool in the cake pans for 10 minutes then invert onto cooling racks and cool completely.
*For cupcakes, line a large cupcake tin with liners. Fill about 2/3 full and bake 12-15 minutes.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(You can make half a batch for the cupcakes)
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups powdered sugar
In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and luscious, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Add the powdered sugar about a cup at a time and beat until smooth.