This isn't a "made from scratch" traditional recipe for Red Velvet Cake. I'm all about making things as simple as possible and I take liberties to save time when I can. This is the busy lady's solution to a traditional Southern favorite.
2 boxes of white cake mix
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 oz almond extract
2 oz red food coloring
3 cans of white cake frosting
Prepare the cake mix as instructed plus one extra egg (for luck). When well mixed, add the vanilla and almond extract and blend completely. Turn the mixer off (trust me on this) and add the red food coloring. Then SLOWLY mix until all your batter is a rich red color throughout.
Pour into three prepared 9 inch cake pans. Pat the bottom of each pan of batter to break up the air bubbles. Bake at 350* for approximately 30 - 40 minutes. Cakes are ready when the center is completely baked through. Test with a skewer or a twig of baking straw inserted in the center to make sure your cake is done (skewer should come out completely clean). Place the layers on a cooling rack and allow plenty of time for layers cool completely.
To frost this, place the bottom of the layer down. The tops are not as crumbly and this can be a hard cake to frost clean. The minute you have a crumb on your frosting knife, switch to a clean one. I know this makes for more clean up but once those red crumbs bleed through, your nice white appearance is shot!
As far as frosting, you can use traditional white frosting, cream cheese is equally delicious or you can use whipped topping (Cool Whip) to frost the cake. Some people like to let the red show on the sides but I prefer to frost the entire cake. The white of the icing is such a pretty contrast to the red in the cake.
You can refrigerate this cake overnight if you need to. The time and chill only make the flavors better!
This recipe has that authentic Southern taste but does not require cocoa.
I know that there are much more complex recipes for both the cake and frosting and they are quite good. I just opt for the simpler approach, I've never had a single slice left over! Hope ya'll enjoy!
