Week 16, December 6, 2010: Red Velvet Cake

Howdy!

We are half way through our journey together- inadvertently, this may post before my week 15 blog (I'm having problems with the video editing and uploading, but I haven't been neglecting my baking).

Between final papers, holiday shopping and decorating, things have been tight as far as blogging goes, but I promise to try harder!  So, without further ado: Red Velvet Cake. Recipe from joyofbaking.com

This week was red velvet cake.  I've always wanted to make one of these- there's something about the name and the color that makes them so seductive.  The classic grooms cake in everything I've seen and read... not sure why, but still, seductive.

What a festive looking cake with an interesting process.  The basic beginning had separate dries and wets and then, buttermilk + lots of red food dye (thinking about using beets if I ever do this one again).

 To mix the butter/eggs with the dry, I added the red buttermilk between dry additions.

Now, the exciting part: the rising action.  Remember those science experiment volcanos? Yes, guys: this used vinegar and baking soda!

 The cake looked brighter than this pic came out- super pinky red with cocoa striations.

 The frosting was delightful- cream cheese, marscapone, heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.  It needed something, but the texture was divine!

 In classic layer cake style, I cut into each cake...

 And frosted the heck out of them!

It did look pretty stunning... I shared it with the fam on Sunday.  Mom, Nan and my cousin Julie came over after Nan treating us to lunch to celebrate Julie being done with another semester and my pilot study getting approved (I love good news!).  The eggplant I had for lunch was lackluster and the cake followed suit... very little chocolate, very bland and the texture was interesting... It was moist, but not too heavy.

The cake reminded me of meeting cute guys out- super pretty, but nothing else.  Not a keeper- it's on the list to refigure.

Psyched for next week- My favorite niece will be up on Saturday and I plan on doing nothing but spoiling her and my sister-in-law rotten once my last paper is done. The resolution is going well too: I've been clearing the garden, cleaning and walking- including an hour and a half around town to do errands during the snow storm this evening. I had the pleasure of running into two of my students while I wore my ridiculous winter hat with ear flaps- pictures to follow!

 I'm also dying to try out the Clementine cake recipes I've been reading- they're gluten-free, which is going to be a nice change of pace.

Enjoy the snow!