taking it back to the old school...

would you believe that even though i was raised in the south i had never had red velvet cake until i moved to nyc?? trust me...i made up for lost time fast!

apparently red velvet cake has been around for ages...some date it back to the mid 1930s! so i was really interested to come across this recipe that had been handed down a couple of generations.

wow, it is good...
i used penzey's natural cocoa and this was the first time that i've made red velvet cake where i could actually smell the chocolate in the batter! i don't know if it was the penzey's or the 2 heaping tablespoons but the smell was delish. i ran out of red food coloring so it's not as red as i would have liked but the flavor more than made up for it. =)and the icing?! having been created in the south this icing can withstand quite a bit of heat and humidity without sacrificing any flavor. it wasn't too sweet, easy to use and stable...all of the things a baker could ask for!

now go make up for lost time!

old school red velvet cake
adapted from chowhound.com

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz red food coloring
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour two 9" cake pans.
2. cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. add cocoa and red food coloring. add flour, salt and buttermilk. mix until combined.
3. remove batter from mixer. sprinkle the baking soda over the top and pour the vinegar on top of the baking soda. (it'll do this cool fizzy thing!) add vanilla. gently mix until combined (taking care not to overstir!).
4. pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes.

old school buttercream icing

2 tablespoons cornstarch or 4 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. in a small saucepan, mix the cornstarch / flour into the milk. cook over medium heat until thick, whisking the entire time. set aside to cool.
2. cream butter and sugar until fluffy. add vanilla and cooked cornstarch/milk mixture slowly.
3. beat until it looks like whipped cream and the sugar has dissolved into the icing.