The Best Red Velvet Cake in the World

After many requests, and blogging about this cake ad nauseum, I am finally posting the recipe.  It was truly just inertia that prevented me from doing so earlier.  I can't even say it was laziness -- after all, how hard is it to copy and paste?

Red on red; the batter after the food coloring is added.

My recipe is a (very) slight variation on one developed by Arthur Schwartz who posted it to his website, foodmaven.com, a few years ago.  It is a true crowd pleaser.  No matter how many other things I bake, I am constantly besieged with requests for this cake. This is the recipe I used when I baked and sold cakes to some local cafes for a few years. I hardly made any money, but the ooohs and aaaahs I got when I dropped off the cakes were priceless.

The "essential" wet (glass of wine) and dry ingredients.

Almost done!

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon  cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons to 1 bottle red food coloring
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 cup buttermilk

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl,  beat the sugar and oil together until well blended. A standing or hand-held mixer works best for this.

Add eggs, one at a time, blending well between additions.  (Blend the last one in until the mixture is smooth.)

Blend in food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Scrape bowl down with a rubber spatula.

Alternately blend in flour and buttermilk , (starting and ending with the flour)  using about a third of each at a time and scraping sides of bowl a couple of times. Make sure not to overbeat or use the electric mixer on high -- this will toughen the cake.

Immediately pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

On a wire rack, cool cakes in pans for 5 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on rack.

Fill and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-ounce package cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (at room temperature)
16 ounces confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk, as needed

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Add butter and continue to beat smooth and well incorporated with the cream cheese.

Beat in the sugar a little at a time, then the vanilla.

If frosting is too thick to spread easily, beat in cold milk a tablespoon or so at a time until of spreading consistency.
You can sift cocoa powder and cinnamon atop the cake, if you like.
Serve and feel the love.

Pinkalicious: A version with three layers and pink frosting.