Red Velvet Cake

Love it or loathe it... Valentine's day is just two days away! So here at Disassemble Dublin we decided to bake a cake, because lets face it who doesn't love cake?!...and since Valentine's is upon us we decided to make a Red Velvet Cake. You may not guess from its extravagant appearance, but red velvet cake is deliciously light and extremely moreish. A classic in America, its becoming a favourite here.  Enjoy, but be warned this recipe makes a rather large cake so its perfect for sharing but equally not!;-)

Louise xx

For the cake:
120g soft butter
300g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
300g plain flour
10g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of salt
220g of buttermilk
1-2 teaspoons of red food colouring paste (I used the whole thing nice it was quite small)
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 heaped teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

For the icing:
110g of soft butter
400g of icing sugar
220g of soft cream cheese
a few drops of vanilla extract
and love hearts to decorate or whatever you like :-)

You will need:
Two 20cm round sandwich tins, greased with butter
and lined with greaseproof paper

Method:
1/ Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (gas mark 3)
2/ Put the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon or an electric whisk, cream them together until they are pale and fluffy
3/ Add the eggs one by one, and a few drops of vanilla extract, beating well after each addition.
4/ Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the bowl in batches and fold in gently with a large metal spoon, adding the buttermilk gradually in between the batches of flour.
5/ Now add the red colouring until you have a deep-red batter - be brave with the dye, it needs to be truly red. Fold in gently until the mix is all one colour.
6/ Mix together the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and add to the mixture, folding in the combining the ingredients thoroughly
7/ Divide the mixture between two cake tins and bake for 25-30mins until the cakes are firm, springy and pulls away from the sides of the tins easily.
8/ Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing
9/ Now for the frosting. Put the butter in a mixing bowl and sift over the icing sugar. Cream together until smooth. Add the cream cheese and a few drops of vanilla extract and mix well, check the taste and adjust if necessary.
10/ Place one of the cake layers upside down on a plate or cake stand so you have a nice flat surface. Spread the frosting. Put the other cake layer on top and use the remaining icing to cover the top and sides of the cake.