Ingredients
-
Red Velvet Cake Batter
-
2 medium size Beets
-
3/4 cup Milk
-
1 Lemon
-
3 Large eggs
-
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
-
1/2 cup (57g) (or vetetable oil) Avocado Oil
-
1 1/2 tsp White Vinegar
-
2 1/4 cups (285g) All-Purpose Flour
-
4 Tbsp Cornstarch
-
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
-
1 cup (198g) Sugar
-
2 tsp Baking Powder
-
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
-
1/2 tsp Salt
-
1/4 cup (57g) room temperature Unsalted Butter
-
Cream Cheese Frosting
-
3 cups (24 oz/680g) room temperature Cream Cheese
-
2 cups (453g) room temperature Unsalted Butter
-
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
-
1/2 tsp (optional) Lemon Extract
-
1/2 tsp Salt
-
6 1/2 cups (52oz/1474g) (powdered sugar) Confectioners' Sugar
Directions
Steps
|
1
Done
|
Preheat oven to 335°F/168°C with rack in the center. Butter two 8-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust with flour for easy removal. |
|
2
Done
|
Make the ButtermilkJuice 1 lemon and add the juice to the milk. Let rest for 10 minutes until curdled. |
|
3
Done
|
Make the Beet JuiceDice and puree the beets to make 1 cup of beet juice. |
|
4
Done
|
Make the Red Velvet Cake BatterAdd the liquid ingredients to a food processor or mixer and process until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients separately in a mixing bowl for the mixer. Attach the paddle and beat in the room temperature butter a little at a time until it ressembles course sand. Slowly add the liquid ingredients a bit at a time, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl, then beat until the batter becomes smooth, about 2 minutes. |
|
5
Done
|
Fill the cake pans half way full and bake for 30 minutes - I use a low temperature to ensure they will not burn. If the cake is not yet firm, keep baking and checking every 5 minutes. Use a toothpick to test the doneness. Remove from oven . If they have a dome on top, use a clean towel or oven mit and gently press down until it's flat. Pro tip: on one of the cakes with a dome top, remove a bit with a knife and place in a bowl. Once cooled off, crumble the cake up and save for decoration to sprinkle on the frosting. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes, then flip them over onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for about an hour - this will facilitate cutting the layers. |
|
6
Done
|
Make the Cream Cheese FrostingBeat all the ingredients in a mixer with a paddle attachment. |
|
7
Done
|
Assemble the Red Velvet Layered CakeCut each cake in half horizontally. I suggest using a cake turn table to facilitate cutting and assembly, and use a cake board of the same dimension - 8". Add a dollop of the frosting to the center of the cake board and coat the cake board surface. Lay the first layer of cake top-side down on the cake board. Fill the first layer with frosting - do not overfill otherwise the cake will slip and fall. Continue stacking. |
|
8
Done
|
Crumb Coat the Cake to Seal ItTo crumb coat the cake, apply a thin laywer of frosting to the enire outside of the cake - it's called a crumb coat because the layer is so thin that you can see the cake. This crumb coat seals the cake ro prevent crumbs from getting into the decorative frosting layer. Important step: put the cake in the freezer or refrigerator until it is firm. This will faciliate decorating. (the cake will not dry out with the crumb coat on it.) |
|
9
Done
|
Decorate the Red Velvet CakeOnce chilled, frost the cake as desired. I used a bench scraper to make smooth sides, then I pipe around the bottom and top. If you reserved cake crumbs, sprinkle over the frosting as decoration. |
