Pennsylvania Cooking: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

So today is the day universally accepted to show you love someone. I think it has gone overboard commercially. After all, if you love someone, you should do that through your actions every day, as we all know actions speak louder than words. That being said, if you want to do a nice dessert, here's old fashioned red velvet cake with cooked icing. This is My other half's favorite cake and since his birthday is day after tomorrow, this cake kills two birds with one stone, so to speak.

RED VELVET CAKE

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Crushed pecans, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smoothbatter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting.

COOKED ICING

1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. flour

In small saucepan cook until thick and smooth: milk, flour. Stir with wooden spoon constantly. Set aside to cool. In a bowl cream butter and shortening together using electric mixer. Add sugar gradually. Beat well until no longer grainy. Add cooked flour mixture. Beat until consistency of whipped cream. Add vanilla and stir.