Red Velvet Cake
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 16 servings
As beautiful as it is delicious, this cake is a dessert worthy of special occasions.
Mark Boughton Photography / styling by Teresa Blackburn
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- Frosting
- 1 1/3 cups 2 percent reduced-fat milk
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cups salted butter, softened
- 1 1/3 to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- To prepare cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease three 8-inch layer pans or two 9-inch layer pans; line bottoms with wax paper.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together vegetable shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour alternately with buttermilk; beat until blended. In a small bowl, whisk cocoa and food coloring together with a fork until smooth; add to batter and beat until evenly blended. In same small bowl, dissolve baking soda in vinegar and beat into batter. Pour into prepared pans and spread evenly; bake 8-inch layers 20 minutes or 9-inch layers 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on wire racks. Remove cakes from pans, peel off wax paper and cool completely on racks.
- To prepare frosting, whisk milk and flour until flour dissolves. Pour into a small saucepan; cook and stir over low heat 2 to 3 minutes or until thick. Cool to room temperature.
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy; beat in vanilla. Fill and frost cake.
Recipe by Jean Kressy.
