RED VELVET CAKE

 Make sure it is on a beautiful plate

   














I did a lot experimenting with this recipe to make what

I thought was the perfect one. The butter and solid

shortening make a moist cake that isn't as heavy.

RED VELVET CAKE

1/2 c Butter, softened

1/2 c Solid Shortening
2 c Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

2 oz Red Food Coloring

2 ½ c Flour
2 TBS Cocoa
1/2 tsp Salt

1 c Buttermilk
1 ½ tsp Baking Soda

1 TBS Vinegar

Cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in food coloring. Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt. Alternate flour and butter milk into the sugar mixture until gone. Sprinkle baking soda over the batter. Add vinegar, and blend.

Put batter in 3 8in baking pans. Bake in a 350* oven for 35 minutes.

Stack layers on top of fancy plate, filling each with the frosting. Frost entire cake. I chop the nuts and put on the outside. Some call for mixing it into the frosting before putting it on the cake.

FROSTING:

1 stick softened butter

1 package softened cream cheese

1 box powdered sugar (4 cups)

Mix until smooth.

In history, the cake has been colored with boiled grated beets or baby food. This would make it more moist, (like adding applesauce to a cake). (Down With Red Dye!)

It was said to originally be Red Devils Food Cake, but when chocolate became hard to get during the war, the amount was cut down and coloring added so it looked right. (See Devils Food Cake)

10/98 EDC Berkley recipe

10/99 Martha Stewart

06/00 Heather Carr

12/05 Montclair Martha