Red Velvet Cake

My husband watched one of those "how it's made" shows about red velvet cake production and immediately requested red velvet cake. After about a week he reminded me he was still craving it, so I decided that in spite of our attempts at healthier eating, red velvet cake would hit the spot. A previous attempt at red velvet cake was made with butter, and it was good but not stellar. After some research I decided that an oil-based recipe would be more moist than one made with butter and chose Martha Stewart's recipe.

We loved this cake! It was moist, more chocolatey than most red velvet cakes, had a nice texture between light and dense, and tasted wonderful with cream cheese frosting. It's the kind of cake that you want for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We had to give away part of it to keep from eating it all.

Lighting was bad the day I made it, so photos are not the greatest!

Red Velvet Cake
adapted from Martha Stewart

2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups canola oil
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put parchment paper in bottom of two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans and spray generously with baking spray. Sprinkle with cocoa and tap out excess.

Whisk flour, salt, and cocoa; set aside.

Combine sugar and oil and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add food coloring and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, scraping sides of bowl with spatula as needed.

In small bowl, mix baking soda and vinegar until combined. Add to batter, and mix on low 10 seconds. Evenly divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake until cake tester inserted in center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans and return to rack to cool completely. After cake is completely cool, frost with choice of frosting. (I refrigerate it after frosting it.)

Frosting:
1 - 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 stick salted butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing until smooth after each addition. Add vanilla and beat well.