Thursday, September 27, 2012

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A mix.

I've finally figured out how to make a decent red velvet cake and the secret is in... the mix.

:)



 Now you  purists may contend my error, but... I've tried so many stinkin' red velvet recipes and none of them came out as nicely as this. And did I mention it was easy???  And that all the grown ups here loved it? And the kids, too? Who else do I need to impress, right?  So follow the easy-peasy mix directions and make the cake... I used two 9" pans to get four layers for added cream cheese frosting goodness.  :) A cake's sole purpose in life should be to hold frosting. Yes, this is an ultimate Ruthy truism.


Bake as directed... note the reddish color? The camera did not do it justice, and we're not going to think about how much red dye #5 or 7 or 2 is in this baby, right? We're going for looks... and taste. Mostly taste because a lot of good looking baked goods taste like cardboard these days. We don't do cardboard in the cafe, no sirree, Bub!

 Cake is baked... It had a couple of cutesie, interesting bubbles come up on the top, very old fashioned. It turned out of the pans beautifully, did it not?  And note the package of Philadelphia cream cheese, watching... awaiting its turn in the mixer. Did you know that this cheese was developed in Philadelphia, New York (in the North Country) not Philadephia, PA?  Ruthy factoid #714.

Frosting ingredients!!!! OH. YAY!!!!

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. butter
6 cups Confectioners/powdered/10X sugar, name of your choosing
3 tsp. vanilla

Cream softened cream cheese and butter together. Beat in sugar, one cup at a time. Add vanilla. Whip on high speed for about 4 minutes until thick and happy. You'll know the frosting is happy by the smile you get when you take a taste. Your smile makes the frosting VERY HAPPY.


 Now... slice the cakes in half to make four thinner layers.  Have a large cake plate ready for layer #1:

Spread icing across surface of cake. We don't care if the icing picks up red crumbs HERE... they're hidden. On the top and sides we care. Really. Truly. But I'm ahead of myself. Place second layer on first, repeat. And then keep doing that until top layer is in place. Go, go, go!!!!

 As the cake settled, I noticed the top was bulging just a little so I used my handy dandy bread knife and evened the top of the cake off by removing the thin slice you see above and putting it on a "come and get it" plate...  It's gone now, so clearly, someone got it!!!  Bye-bye, little cake!

Here's a Ruthy frosting tip:  Use a thin layer of frosting to GLUE CRUMBS to the CAKE... It works like magic. I take a spatula and press frosting along all sides of the cake. Notice the crumbs shining through? They're about to disappear because they're trapped in frosting like and evil dictator's take over the cosmic world of cake crumbs dastardly plan!!!!  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Now... gently smooth large dollops of frosting around sides of cake working from one side to the other, and never going back the original way!!!  So if you start on the right, keep rotating your plate in one direction to frost. This keeps your knife/spatula from picking up crumbs and plunking them down in the finished frosting layer...

On the top, apply several spoons full or spatula plops of frosting in the middle of the cake and spread gently toward edges... See below? No crumbs. You've locked them in and they CANNOT ESCAPE. Well, they can if you let kids help, but we don't care about crumbs if kids help because we like kids a lot, right?

Now you use the exact same technique for the sides, starting at one point and working your way around... The sides are a tiny bit trickier but while you pressed the initial trapping frosting into the cake to lock in Mr. and Mrs. Crumb and all their baby Crumbs?  Here you use a light touch, like painting a wall.

And there we have the finished product!!!  Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for the crew watching the ACFW Awards Gala on Saturday night... in our jammies!!!

Suh----Weeeet!

20 comments:

  1. whoa! looks good! I want that checkered plate! :-)
    I've had too much excitement this morning - took my dogs out, was bent over to pick up the poop, and antoher dog came out and my german shepherd slipped the collar. she hasn't done that since she was around 2 yrs old(she's 11 1/2 now) and of course ran up to the dog barking - didn't attack though. she's actually a nice dog just likes to intimidate :-( of course it had to happen in a townhome community with nazi HOA board, large dog paranoia(not sure spelled right!), and an grumpy old man whose dog just so happened to be attacked and nearly killed by a pitbull a month ago. :-( I apogized and so far no police have shown up at my door! I"ll probably get a letter though and be the talk of the commnity. makes me mad. and it's my fault for not controlling her - didn't know she'd slip out but now I do. just wish it hadn't happened with this particular person. wish it hadn't happened at all.

    If that cake were here or I were there it'd be gone about now from stress eating along!the plate would have a new home for sure! :-)

    Susanna

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    Replies
    1. Oh no, Susanna. What a way to start the day, huh? Maybe they'll leave you alone. I pray so.

      And I'm with you, I LOVE that plate.

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    2. Susanna, I know just how you feel. The stress level goes WAY up, doesn't it?

      Praying for a good outcome to this - i.e. that it will be a non-event, nobody will say anything, and your neighbors will give you a reassuring smile.

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    3. Oh, Susanna, my dogs get me in more scrapes than my kids. Or maybe it's equal, LOL! Ugh. That's a Murphy's Law situation right there, anything that can go wrong will, and at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME. Hugs to you!!!

      I love plaid and checks. Gingham. The whole country nine yards. It just makes me smile! That plate set is old and cheap and I'm probably poisoning my family with Chinese lead paint, but it had the cutest country scene on it, surrounded by those checks. LOVED IT in my red and white kitchen. But you know what? Back then there were country dishes everywhere... now it's either stark colors or Italian Tripoli fruits/veggies/vines.... Now is there anything about this Irish country girl that would welcome those in this old kitchen???

      NO.

      I finally found a set of plain-but-country Sonoma dishes at Kohl's 18 months ago. I like it, but it's not what I'd have grabbed normally, it's just we were tired of eating off the floor. Silly us!!!

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  2. YUMMO!! I'm so glad you found a good mix, Ruthy! Sometimes that's all I have time for.

    Love the tip on trapping the crumbs! I'll do that next time. Yay! No crumbs! Who woulda' thunk it??

    Susanna, I'm glad you haven't been arrested yet! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. me too - one person DID get a lawsuit on them when another owner's dog slipped loose and attacked. this guy is trouble though so I'll probably be hearing something or getting a letter from the HOA nazis...and I'm mad mostly because as careful as I've been something always seems to happen and I'm the one ultimately responsible for my dog - even though she's not mean she does look scary(black german shepherd). this place has gotten so paranoid about big dogs even though the little ones are most of the ones slipping loose and running up to people. :-( just makes me mad that the one time I slipped up something happened.

      guess I need to get off the computer and get my exercise done for the day!
      Susanna

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    2. Susanna, I bet she's just beautiful. Praying for a good outcome and hey, honey... we all get letters of one kind or another. :) As long as it's just a warning (and the adrenaline rush is warning enough, right???) shrug it off and move on. But I feel your pain!

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  3. This looks so good, Ruthy. I was wondering about that particular mix, if it was any good. Now I know. And how can you go wrong with the frosting? Cream cheese, butter, sugar...ah, the makings of pure delight.

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    1. Mindy, I was tickled pink that it tasted good. I've really given up on Red Velvet. They sell it everywhere as if it's delicious, but I've never been able to make one that I'd take anywhere. If any of youse have a recipe you want to share here, I'll eat my words, gladly.

      This came out nice and moist, didn't taste artificial at all, and none of the weird red-food coloring taste came through. I refuse to ask how they did that. I'm sure we really don't want to know! ;)

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  4. I'm with Missy - I've never seen that crumb-trapping trick. I think I'll have to make a cake (once my deadline is past) and try it out!

    And I have one son who loves Red Velvet cake, but I've had no luck finding a good recipe. Going with the mix next time.

    So was the pajama party successful? I have to tell you, after eating the meal at the party, and then sitting FOREVER in my fancy dress, I was ready to pajama party along with you.

    But it was worth being there to see Melanie get the Carol :)

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    Replies
    1. We ended up with over 250 comments that weekend as we all oohed and aahed over the Gala and the pics the girls were sending back! So yes, it was wondrous fun to hang with everybody. And to see new faces getting awards? I love that. Not that there's anything wrong with the old faces, but it's nice to see lots of folks get recognized. We are an organization loaded with talent and firing up sales, so that recognition (while not necessary) is nice. But even better, in all honesty? Are the e-mails from readers who smile when they read your stuff.

      :)

      That's like the best cake and ice cream dish EVER.

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  5. My secret for homemade red velvet cake is lots of oil and two (yes, two) small bottles of red food coloring. That's what makes the real cake moist and...well, red! I've used less food coloring before, but you just don't get the rich color. It's my family's favorite, especially around Christmas!

    Now, if you have a good recipe for a white birthday cake...I can't find a recipe that doesn't come out dry.

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    1. Wow, Stephanie! I thought my recipe using one whole bottle was extreme! LOL

      BTW, how much cocoa do you use?

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    2. Stephanie, come back!!! Come share your recipe.

      I'm willing to try whatever it takes because:

      A. I'm competitive
      B. I never give up
      C. Did I mention competitive?
      D. All of the above.

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  6. I love red velvet cake! Can't wait to try this mix and your frosting, Ruthy.


    Janet

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    1. Janet, you will love it... I don't love it as much as homemade carrot cake.... Nothing beats that in my book. Oh, yum!!!

      But it was delicious!

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  7. See, now, I'm not sure if it's better if I read these posts in the morning with my coffee or late at night with my coffee. Either way, I lick the screen.

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    1. My screen is too dusty and nasty to lick. Which only makes me chagrined to think that yours is CLEANER with gazillion kids around.

      Clearly I am home science deficient.

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  8. Yummmm -- it looks as good as it cyber-tasted, Ruthy! Love the crumb trick too. My cakes always look crummy! And I have to try that cream cheese icing. Sigh...bet it would go great on a spice cake too. Drooling on my keyboard is so unladylike. Sorry about that.

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    1. Kav, I'm still looking for a great spice cake (one with a carrot cake type consistency, like those old Spanish Bar cakes) to go with this cream cheese frosting...

      If you've got one, you must share. It's like a RULE, Kav... ;)

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