Spread the Love with a Red Velvet Cake

Why not spread the love this Valentine's Day by baking something sweet for that special someone? This Red Velvet Cake is the perfect for the occasion. I've been fascinated by Red Velvet and have been meaning to try a Red Velvet Cake for a while, so when I was considering recipes for Valentine's Day this cake really did seem like the perfect cake to bake. The deep brownish-red colour of the cake comes from the chemical reaction of the anthocyanins in the cocoa powder with an acid which in this case is the buttermilk and to add to the effect red food colouring is also used. 

Ingredients 

FOR THE CAKE 

225g Butter (softened) 

4 tbsp Water 

55g Cocoa Powder

3 Eggs (lightly beaten) 

250ml Buttermilk 

2 tsp Vanilla Extract 

2 tbsp Red Food Colouring

280g Plain Flour

55g Cornflour

1.5 tsp Baking Powder 

280g Caster Sugar 

FOR THE FROSTING 

90g Butter

20g Cream Cheese

200g Icing Sugar 

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

FOR THE CAKE

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and grease your two 8inch round or your two heart shaped cake tins with oil and line with greaseproof paper

2) Melt the butter along with the water and cocoa powder in a saucepan until fully melted and smooth, then take off the heat

3) In your mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract and red colouring until frothy

4) Then quickly and evenly stir in the flour, cornflour and baking powder, followed by the caster sugar 

5) Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for approximately 25-30 mins, until the mixture has risen and is firm to te touch 

FOR THE FROSTING 

1) Cream the butter and cream cheese together, followed by it and the and icing sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy

2) Add in the vanilla extract and beat again until smooth 

3) Using your pallet knife spread the frosting between the two layers and completely over the rest of the cake 

4) Decorate the cake however you wish - I used pink confetti hearts seens as it's Valentine's Day.

If you'd rather individual red velvet cupcakes instead of one large cake, simply half the mixture for 12 cupcakes, and, spoon 1-2 spoonfuls of the mixture into each bun case. Bake the cupcakes for approx 15 minutes until they are risen and from to the touch.

If you happen to have a heart shaped muffin mold, go ahead and use it, but if not, have no fear, there's a solution. Simply place a marble into each slot in your cake tin along with the bun case as demonstrated in the picture above. 

And again, decorate the cupcakes as you wish with the frosting and any other little hearts and bits n bobs to make them all the more special.