The Best..RED VELVET CAKE

It has been so long I have not bake a cake to indulge in ..... I've been having my tea break everyday without a slice of cake and that is some emptiness in life for me.

As you can see lately from the food bloggers, most of them are busy baking cookies, and cookies only.  Well, what about having some cakes for Chinese New Year?

Have you bake Red Velvet Cake before?  This is my second time,  I am sure some of you do but some hesitate because of the red colouring putting in.  Well actually you can omit the red colouring if you are the health conscious person.  Once in a while having some colours it is alright and since Chinese New Year is drawing near, I thought of baking a Red Velvet Cake..... Red represent for Chinese New Year, right?

This is a very SPECIAL RED VELVET Cake....... the ingredients are slightly different from others.   It uses cooking oil instead of butter and with added half cup of plain hot coffee in.

THE BEST RED VELVET CAKE 

Recipe sourced from Adora'x Box 

Ingredients for the cake layers:
250g plain flour
1 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsps. unsweetened cocoa powder
280g sugar
1 cup (250ml) vegetable cooking oil
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsps. vanilla extract
2 tsps red food colouring  (I used Wilton Red Red gel colouring)
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup of prepared plain hot coffee (do not omit  this ingredient)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 170° C.

Grease and flour two 9" cake pans. (I lined the the bottom pans only with baking paper)

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.  Set aside.

In another bowl, mix the sugar and vegetable cooking oil with a spatula. l. If using gel food colouring, add it in at this stage. You might want to temper the colour ).

Add in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and food colouring; at this stage use your hand mixer to mix. Stir before adding the coffee and vinegar. Blend everything together.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at time, mixing after each addition, just until combined.  (Do not overmix)

Divide the mixture equally between the two prepared pans.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or when a cake tester comes out clean. Do not over bake.

Invert on cooling racks. When the pans are just warm, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cakes. Invert onto the cooling racks, peel the lining paper off and leave to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

150g cream cheese

50g unsalted butter

80g icing sugar

1 cup fresh cream, whipped until stiff

1.  Beat cream cheese with butter until soft.

2.  Turn mixer to low speed, add icing sugar a little at a time, whisk until well

      blended.

3.  Add whipped cream, stir through with a spatula.

I guess I don't need to elaborate further after looking at the slice cake, it is indeed soft and moist.... so if you intend to bake this, don't skip or omit that 1/2 cup plain hot coffee.  It does make a difference in it.

The cake tastes much more better the next day.

You wanna bake this Red Velvet Cake for Chinese New Year?

A Red Cake to usher in the Snake Year!

 

 I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 

hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover