Red Velvet Cake

M y birthday is on the fourth of July, and I'm pretty happy that I decided to pop out on that day.

Most everyone is off on Independence Day and we can relax, eat, shoot off fireworks and have a good time.

Now this red velvet cake wasn't my birthday cake - it was actually Hannah's. Hannah's birthday was just a few days before mine.

In previous years I've baked my own birthday cakes (and Hannah's too!), but this year I decided to do something different and not bake my own cake. By golly, I'm twenty five now. It's time to relax and let someone else bake the cake.

I asked Eric if he would make me a Funfetti cake. And he did. He is my slice of cake.


He even let me take pictures of him and make commentary on what he was doing.
"Ummm you're not going to use a mixer? Don't you want to use a mixer??"

"Do you want to bake the cakes in two, nine inch round pans instead of that 13x9? Because I think you probably should."


He frosts like a pro.


He even sprinkled sprinkles on it using a special sprinkling technique I've never seen before.


The finished cake. It's magnificent! It was tasty, too.


I was very surprised on my birthday to see this in the living room.

Eric thought I had been eating too much cake lately and wanted to help me out.


Just kidding just kidding just kidding. Eric bought it for me because he knew I wanted one. It's exactly what I wanted. I love it! Now I can bike and watch the Real Housewives at the same time. Thank you, Eric!

On my birthday we ate KFC. Don't ask... it's tradition.


Fried chicken, biscuit, mashed potatoes and gravy and tea. It's all so brown and delicious. I ate too much chicken and felt nauseous afterwards.


We also did some traditional afternoon firework shopping. Do you like our patriotic $5 Walmart shirts?? Mine has the statue of liberty riding a MOTORCYCLE. I cut the sleeves off of it too. If that's not patriotic, I don't know what is. Eric's shirt features Mount Rushmore, an American flag, and a bald eagle. God Bless America.
God Bless Walmart.


People get really into fireworks here. There's a firework stand on every corner. This one is called "Autumn Drizzle". It made me think of pancakes and maple syrup and pumpkins, so I bought it.


Presents! PRESENTS!! In this picture I spy a nonstick skillet, cookie sheets, cake stands...
and... a foot. Do you see the foot or is it just me?


RIDE ON FREEDOM!


Later that day we went over to our neighbor's house and had snacks and cake and ice cream. Homemade ice cream by mom! Thank you, Mom!
Hey are those Sun Chips?
Note to self: Buy Sun Chips.


Then we shot off fireworks all night. That's my dad on the left. I really like him.
He told me not to say "piss" on my blog anymore. I think he's probably right about that.





I think I already have a red velvet cake recipe on here somewhere... it was a long time ago, I know that. This is my new, updated red velvet cake recipe and it's spectacular!

There's a bottle of red food coloring in there. Yup, an entire bottle.
It's good for you.


This is classic red velvet cake; no funny business at all. Flour, butter, sugar, oil, buttermilk, cocoa powder... the usual. Except there's no vinegar. It's not necessary! That's a myth.

The frosting is a combination of cream cheese and cooked white frosting. It's sooo good. The frosting amount I made is enough to frost four layers of cake. I only made this cake two layers because I was lazy, though. So I had extra frosting. Next time I'll split the layers.

I'm off! Have a good weekend. I'll be grilling some steak in a steak and wine cook-off in Iowa. Just for fun. I'm not going to win. I'll blog about it if the company allows me to.

Red Velvet Cake (By Me)
Printable Recipe
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 ( ounce) bottle red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs

Frosting
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To bake the cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, or spray with nonstick-flour added cooking spray.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk until combined.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, food coloring and vanilla until combined.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs - about 2 minutes - until well combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk mixture (scraping down sides of bowl occasionally), until combined; continue to beat an additional 2 minutes or until ingredients are well incorporated and batter is smooth.

Divide batter into prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 35-40 minutes, or until center of cake springs back when lightly touched, and outer edges pull away from pan. Cool pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; run a knife around outside edges and invert cakes onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting: whisk together sugar, milk and flour in a medium sized saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. Continue to boil for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened; cool in the refrigerator or freezer until completely chilled.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in chilled milk mixture and vanilla, until well combined and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

To assemble the cake: spread frosting evenly over layers, sides and top of cake.

Makes 12 servings