Red Velvet Cake

When I was in culinary school, my American Regional Instructor insisted that we change the red velvet cake recipe in the curriculum to my recipe after tasting this cake.

This is going to be a strange tip- fyi. But when I was a kid my mom always baked cakes with paper towel circles lining the cake pans vs parchment paper. Which I thought was super weird, but I've got to tell you, it works really well. (And is super cheap) just cut white paper towels to the size of your cake pans, then non stick spray the pan all over. Place the paper towel on the bottom, then spray the towel with a small amount of non stick spray.  After the cake bakes the paper towel peels off so clean and perfect. And the cake bakes soft on the bottom, it's fantastic. I know- it sounds like a crazy hillbilly method. But it works really good, I swear!

I use apple cider vinegar versus the traditional distilled white vinegar. But this is because I have absolutely no need for white vinegar in my house, and I don't like it. But if you have white vinegar, you can by all means use it.

For the frosting you can add chopped and  toasted pecans or you can leave them out. It's totally a personal choice.

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350

1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ounce (1 small bottle) red food coloring
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup buttermilk

Cream butter, sugar, and salt together with an electric mixer until soft and light. About 2 minutes.
Add eggs and vanilla, beat until combined.
Add food coloring, vinegar, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda, mix until combined.
Add half the flour, mix. Add half the milk, mix.
Finish by adding the rest of the cake flour, then the rest of the milk. Mix until combined.

Pour batter into prepared 9 inch cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Allow cakes to cool 10 minutes before taking out of the pan. Then turn the cakes onto wire cooling racks and cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb (4 cups) powdered sugar
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beat until fluffy and smooth. Add pecans (if using) at the end.