Cake... do you need to have a reason to make one?

Whole cakes are one baked good I don't make often enough as it sometimes seems like a bit too much for just 2 people. I would normally make half of the recipe or just make some cupcakes, but I thought I would give in today and make a full cake - why? No reason... just because!

I've had this recipe for Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting in my to-try piles for some time, so I finally picked it out this morning. There are many different recipes out there, but I noticed this one is a little different as it has almost double the amount of cocoa that others called for. In this one, it also calls for using "cool" butter instead of softened. This is achieved by taking butter right from the refrigerator, cutting it into cubes and letting it sit for roughly 5 minutes in your mixing bowl before you start beating in the sugar. With softened butter, this mixture would have gotten very creamy, but you will notice that it will be more crumbly until you start adding in the egg yolks.

To lighten and add some lift to the cake, egg whites that have been beaten until soft peaks are gently folded in to the batter. When you divide the batter into the baking pans, be sure to gently tap the bottoms to remove some of the air bubbles. With cakes, I like to twist my pans back and forth so the edges of the batter go up the sides a little - I find this helps reduce the "bump" in the middle so you don't have to cut it off to level the cake. I also bake most all recipes at 325 which aides in keeping them level.

I thought the layers might be a little thin, but when you add in the creamy thick frosting I think the right choice was sticking with the 9" pans and to not use a couple 8" instead. The cake is moist with just a hint of chocolate flavor in the background - I'm glad we went with a recipe that calls for more than a tablespoon or two of cocoa. Don't make this expecting a rich chocolate cake though; the cocoa adds just a depth of flavor. The frosting is simply softened cream cheese and confectioners' sugar mixed with a splash of vanilla. Keeping the frosting for only the filling and top ensures a thick layer, but it also gives a striking contrast to the rich vibrant red color. If you have an aversion to food coloring, you can leave it out - the cake will just be a lighter brown color. For a bright white frosting, use clear vanilla if you can find it. It almost looked a little plain, but grating a brick of chocolate with a microplane over the top solved that!

Recipes
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting