1tablespooninstant pudding mix white chocolate or vanilla
1teaspoonvanilla
Instructions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter and flour three 8-inch-diameter cake pans
Sift sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
Blend the buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in another bowl .
Beat the sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well blended after each addition.
Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions.
Divide batter between the three pans.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pans about 5 minutes and turn out to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat the cream cheese, and Confectioner's sugar until fluffy.
Add the cream, pudding mix, and vanilla extract.
Beat until it thickens and stiff peaks form.
Frost the tops and sides of the Red Velvet Cake.
Refrigerate if keeping longer than a few hours or if it is a warm day.
Notes
Expert Tip: Let cake layers cool completely on a wire rack before filling and frosting.
Measure your flour carefully. Sift it and then scoop it lightly into the cup measure - don't pack it down. Level the top with a butter knife.
Cream the butter until it is fluffy and very light in color. This could take up to 5 minutes - scrape the sides of bowl often.
Don't over mix the batter - your cake will be tough and coarse.
Sift the dry ingredients together a couple of times. This is an important step.
If you use an extra dark cocoa it will dull the red color of the cake. Use regular cocoa powder.
Unfortunately the natural food colors don't hold up in this recipe. Use the plain store variety of red food coloring for the best result.
For the most vibrant color use a 3 tablespoons red gel food coloring instead of the liquid.
No buttermilk? To make this without buttermilk you can try one of these buttermilk substitutions there are numerous ones so be sure to read to the bottom of the page.
Once I had the layers filled and stacked I ran a couple of drinking straws through the cake around the center to hold everything in place while I finished. If you are going to be transporting it just cut the straw even with the top and frost over it. Take it out when you cut into the cake. It will keep it stable.