Saturday, April 06, 2013

Devilish Red Velvet Cake


Who would have thought that a light chocolate cake in velvety red coupled with silky cream cheese frosting would work so well together? And cause so much trouble too. I call it devilish evil cake. Because upon meeting it, all your resolutions of sticking to your diet might as well be a pipe dream.

Who's birthday was this for?

I haven't made this 'evil' concoction in ages, because I know, if I were to baked it, ice it, and decorate it, I wont be able to stay away from it. And I won't be able to stop at one slice, or a whole small cake. Yeah, I am but a weak human, who finds pleasure in her food. So there's been sort of a blanket ban on this 'sexy oh so gloriously moist and crumbly crimson chocolatey piece of heaven' here in my kitchen.

So I believe it's now my duty (heheheh) to pass the recipe along with the calories to those who's been asking for it. This recipe makes mild chocolate cake with moist and tender crumbs. The secret to that lies in the buttermilk, so make sure you don't skip that. As with the cocoa powder, go ahead and splurge, don't skim on this, it really makes a difference in the end result. And the satiny smooth cream cheese frosting, what more can I say? It perfectly offset the chocolatey redness of the cake with it's creamy slightly tangy creaminess, making this a very dramatic looking cake.

Don't bake this if you plan not to break your diet. Remember, you have been warned. 

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:


Cake

2 cups (200 grams) plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup (50 grams) cornflour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons (20 grams)  Dutch-processed cocoa powder or the best quality you can get!
1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) caster sugar
2 eggs (120 grams)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon caramel flavoring (optional, if you don't have it, double vanilla extract to 2 tsp)
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk (refer to buttermilk recipe
2 teaspoons gel red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:


8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
2/3 cup (160 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

Instructions:


Cake: 


Preheat oven to 175 degrees C and place rack in center of oven. Grease two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with baking/parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flours, salt, and cocoa powder.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft approx. about 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla (and caramel if using any) extract, beat until well mixed.
Whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring in a mug. Using the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
In a small cup add the baking soda to the vinegar. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Work quickly here, as we don’t want the baking soda and vinegar mix to lose it’s potency.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). This is done to make filling and frosting the cake easier and less messy.

Cream Cheese Frosting: 


In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency. 


To Assemble: 

With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the cake with cake crumb and hawaiian coconut.

Serves 8 - 12 people.


I usually make 4 6" cakes with this recipe, making 4 small cakes that each serves 2-3 small eaters or 1 'who cares about calories' dessert lover.


Bon appetit!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I tried your recipe yesterday and memang sangat sedap. Penah cuba resipi lain sebelum ni tapi kek agak kering. Your recipe the cake turned up perfect. A keeper recipe definitely! Duya