Sophia's Birthday Cake

Saturday was my younger daughter's birthday.  She asked for a red velvet cake.  I don't know why.  She never had one before.  I never made any because the recipe I had called for 2 ounces of red food coloring and that was all you tasted.  So I put a call out on the Penzey friends page on FB and got a couple of recipes. One from my friend Donna but it called for red beets to color the cake and Sophia does not like beets and did not want me to try it.  Then Linda added her recipe.  I made the cake but did not use cream cheese icing.

Linda Whitley's Red Velvet Cake

½ C Butter
1½ C Granulated sugar
1 tsp Penzeys Vanilla
2 Large eggs
1 Tbs liquid tasteless red food coloring
Just over 2 1/3 C unsifted cake flour (or 2 C unsifted all-purpose flour)
¼ C Ghirardelli or Penzeys unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp Penzeys kosher or sea salt
1 C buttermilk
1½ tsp baking soda
1 Tbs white vinegar

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl. Add eggs and food coloring; blend thoroughly. In separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and salt; add alternately with buttermilk to creamed mixture. Stir baking soda into vinegar; fold carefully into batter (do NOT beat). Pour into two greased and floured 9-in round cake pans. Bake at 350° F for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tester inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Cook completely on wire racks. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter (1/2 C), softened
4 C confectioners sugar
1 Tbs cream or milk
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add confectioners sugar in parts (2 C, 1C, 1C). Beat until smooth. Add milk and beat until smooth.

 I made 2- 8 inch rounds and let them cool for an hour.

You can really see the color in this photo! 

Only 1 Tablespoon of coloring.

I started putting on the crumb coat of icing and Frank took over.  

His first job in the US was as a cake decorator.

Sophia wanted an animal print cake. 

We found this sugar sheet at Walmart for $4.

That made it easy!

Here's the finished product.

Frank started getting carried away with the icing.

The cake was delicious!!

 Birthday Girl!!

A slice!

Here's a basic buttercream recipe.  I made half this recipe.  I only used butter.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature (use vegetable shortening when pure white icing is needed)
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla or other desired flavoring
2 pounds confectioners' sugar

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix at slow speed until smooth. If stiffer icing is needed, or if the weather is very warm, add a little extra sugar. This recipe is enough to cover and fill a 9 by 13-inch sheet cake or 2 (9-inch) layers.