RED VELVET CAKE

Recipe Notes:

• Less quantity is needed if gel red food coloring is used as compared with liquid form.

• Pure concentrated vanilla extract is much more flavorful and aromatic.

• Use a good quality of cocoa to give the cake the maximum flavor.

• Thickened cream is also known as heavy cream in some countries.

• Cake layer slicer or serrated knife can also be used to slice the cake into layers.

• I used a fan forced oven set to 140°C; If conventional oven is used the temperature would be 160°C.

INGREDIENTS FOR RED VELVET CAKE

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(Serves 10-12 peoples)

✅️ 385 Gm Plain Flour

✅️ 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

✅️ 1 Tsp Baking Powder

✅️ ½ Tsp Salt

✅️ 1½ Cups Caster Sugar

✅️ 115 Gm Butter, softened

✅️ 250 ml Buttermilk

✅️ 125 ml Cooking Oil

✅️ 2 Eggs (±68 Gm each)

✅️ 2 Tsp White Vinegar

✅️ ±1 Tsp Gel Red Food Coloring

✅️ 2 Tsp Concentrated Vanilla Extract

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

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✅️ 300 ml Thickened Cream

✅️ 500 Gm Cream Cheese, softened

✅️ 1½ Cups Pure Icing Sugar

✅️ 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

✅️ 1 Tsp Concentrated Vanilla Extract

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1. Whisk plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl to mix well and set aside.

2. Line a springform cake tin with baking paper. Beat caster sugar and softened butter in a bowl with a handheld mixer on LOW speed for 5 mins until they turn pale yellow in color. Add eggs one at a time and beat the egg until it blends with the mixture. Add Cooking oil and continue to beat the mixture until it is creamy. Add vanilla extract, red food coloring, buttermilk and white vinegar to the mixture and beat the mixture together until they combine thoroughly. Sift flour mixture half at a time into the bowl and fold the mixture to mix well with a rubber spatula to mix well. Beat the mixture briefly with a handheld mixer on LOW speed (don’t use HIGH speed) to remove any flour lump in the batter. Avoid from beating the mixture for too long as this will create a lot of air bubbles in the batter. Scrape the side of the bowl with the rubber spatula and transfer the batter into the springform cake tin. Spread the batter evenly in the cake tin with the spatula. Tap the cake tin on the table several times to remove any trapped air bubbles in the batter. Bake the cake in the preheated fan forced oven's lowest rack at 140°C for 55mins to 1hr or until the cake is baked through.

3. After 1 hour, remove the cake from the oven. Stick a toothpick into the centre of the cake. The cake is cooked if the toothpick comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely before frosting.

4. To prepare the frosting, beat the cream cheese, salt, lemon juice, vanilla extract and pure icing sugar together for 30secs on LOW speed. Add the thickened cream and continue to beat the mixture on LOW speed until it reaches a creamy, light and fluffy texture. Keep the cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator to cool for easy piping.

5. When the cake has cooled completely, remove them from the springform cake tin and place it on a cake board. Cut the uneven cake surface off with a serrated knife to have a flatter top. Reserve the removed pieces to decorate the cake later. Slice the cake into two layers. Tuck overlapping pieces of baking paper around the cake’s edges to keep a neat frosting work.

Pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the cake’s bottom layer in a circular motion (starting from the middle) to have an even thickness of the frosting. Stack the top layer of the cake over the bottom layer. Continue to pipe the frosting onto the cake to cover the whole cake and beautify at the same time.

6. Break the removed cake pieces reserved earlier into crumbs in a bowl. Sprinkle the crumbs over the cake to decorate. Remove the baking paper previously tucked under the cake. Keep the cake in the refrigerator to cool for at least 1 hour for easy cutting.

7. To cut the cake, dip a long sharp knife in the hot water and wipe it dry completely before each slicing of the cake. The warm knife will cut through the frosting neatly. Enjoy a slice or two of red velvet cake over a cup of warm tea or coffee.

RECIPE PHOTO GALLERY