April 27 – How time flies! Earlier this week we celebrated six months of wedded bliss. Though we have been together for almost 10 years, these six months of marriage have been by far our greatest adventure yet, and it’s been so much fun.|
I have always made Patrick a cake for his birthdays, and I believe baking a cake is such a great way to celebrate our special milestones. So over the weekend I thought I’d start a new tradition – I thought “Hey I’ll make a Red Velvet Cake to celebrate our 6th month anniversary. Any excuse really.”
I accidently discovered Red Velvet Cake on a trip to New York in 2008. Though I visited Magnolia Bakery for their cupcakes (which were sadly disappointing), I instead fell in love with their Red Velvet. I had never seen a Red Velvet Cake until I stepped into that Bakery, and I was immediately intrigued by it’s bright red layers. Without hesitation I bought a slice and after one bite, I was hooked. It’s hard to describe the flavour of Red Velvet – it’s got cocoa and vanilla, but neither flavours are particularly dominant. The cake itself is moist but delicate – it’s not too sweet, it’s not too rich, it’s just right.
When I returned to Australia, I was a woman obsessed with this red-and-white piece of heaven. After searching online for months, I finally found a recipe that finally worked! And Patrick could finally try this Red Velvet Cake that I’ve been raving about.
Many cupcake bakeries have begun selling Red Velvet Cupcakes, but I don’t need to try them all to know with certainty that this recipe kicks franchise-cupcake butt. So I really hope you get to make this cake to experience how delicious and unforgettable this cake is. Even if I do say so myself. And don’t be daunted if you prefer baking cupcakes – the recipe can be easily converted to make beautiful Red Velvet Cupcakes (a note on how to do this is all the end of the recipe).
Recipe: Unforgettable Red Velvet Cake
The following recipe will make a two-layered cake, whichis adequate for 10-12 people. However if you want a slightly dramatic towering masterpiece, do what I did and bake three layers by multiplying the ingredients by 1.5.Simple really.
Ingredients
- · 2 ½ cups sifted plain flour
- · 1 teaspoon baking powder
- · 1 teaspoon salt
- · 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- · 30ml red food colouring (two bottles of Queen’s
Pillar Box Red food colouring)
- · 115g unsalted butter, softened
- · 1 ½ cups caster sugar
- · 2 eggs, at room temperature
- · 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- · 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- · 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- · 1 teaspoon baking soda
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease two 22cm cake tins with softened butter and line base and sides with baking paper.
1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.
4. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
5. In a deep, small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda (it will bubble and fizz). Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir through quickly until combined.
6. Divide the batter equally between the two tins – I weighed the cake tins using my scales, to make sure the batter split was equal. Place tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, rotating tins halfway through.
7. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Cool the cake in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Unmould the cake, place it top side down on the wire rack, and allow to cool completely before icing.
To make red velvet cupcakes: Line muffin pans with muffin cases (it will make about 20 to 24 cupcakes). Make batter as directed, divide between muffin cases, and bake for 20 minutes.
