Red Velvet Cake

I wanted to make a Red Velvet Cake for Eric's birthday last fall but I didn't do a very good job with Grandma's recipe. Most of the failure can be attributed to my not having a full bottle of red food coloring on hand. I used the end of both the red and blue coloring from my set and ended up with a sick blue/grey cake. It was not appetizing and we didn't eat it very fast so the frosting ended up breaking down and the cake got very stale.

Here is my second attempt. I looked online for an easy recipe and found possibly the easiest "home made" cake recipe ever. It is based on a store bought yellow cake mix and a box instant vanilla pudding. I just had to mix in the usual eggs, oil, cocoa powder and an entire bottle of red food coloring from a more traditional recipe. So much easier than making the cake from scratch!!!

The recipe said to make the cake in a 9x13 but I wanted a layer cake. I only have one round cake pan so I had to make it in two batches. The batter was such a satisfying, bright red. I flipped the first layer out onto my cooling rack as soon as I could get it out of the pan (had to get the rest of the batter in the oven). The lines pressed into the top of the still warm cake when I flipped it onto the stand made me laugh so I had to take a picture.

When both layers were out and cooled I made the frosting. Also very easy. Beat together one 8oz package of cream cheese and 1 cup powdered sugar. Fold one tub of cool whip into that and frost away. I was not sure I would have enough to do the whole thing (as it was meant for a 9x13 still in the pan) so I was a little skimpy with the frosting between the layers.


I must say it turned out quite well. I don't remember the last time I made a layer cake but I am sure it did not turn out this well. It looked better than the picture on the website. Eric liked it a lot. My favorite part is the frosting, you can't go wrong with cream cheese!