Red Velvet Cake (ATK)

By hmp13

For the cake to have the proper rise and colour, you must use natural cocoa powder; do not substitute Dutch-processed cocoa.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pan
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons red food colouring
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups icing sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans, then dust with cocoa powder and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla together. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the cocoa and the red food colouring together to a smooth paste.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk mixture. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just combined. Beat in the cocoa mixture until the batter is uniform.

Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and gently tap the pans on the work surface to settle the batter. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 25 minutes, rotating the pans half way through baking.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes, then flip them out onto a wire rack. Peel off the parchment paper, flip the cakes right side up, and let cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours.

Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper to keep the platter clean while you assemble the cake. Place one of the cake layers on the platter. Spread 1 cup of the frosting over the top, right to the edge of the cake. Place the other cake layer on top and press gently to adhere. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting and remove the parchment strips from the platter before serving.

For cupcake: Line muffin tins with paper liners. Bake @ 350 for 16-18 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt together in a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low, slowly add the icing sugar and beat until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes.