So, it was my b'day last Friday. Another year older (cant help it) and wiser (I dont think so, but let's pretend that's the case). Tell me something… when you were growing up, did you take any major decisions on how to and how not to behave based on how the grownups around you were behaving. Like, if and when I get married, I'll be an “ABC” type of spouse, instead of a “XYZ” type, those kinda things, got it?
Anyways, among many other decisions, one such decision of mine was to always be graceful and not to worry about the increasing numerical value of my age. Back then, I was more like… age is just a number and it doesn't matter. Looks like in my case age and wisdom is inversely proportional!
Ok, that part hasn't changed, I still believe age is just a number and so on, but my only concern is just saying it out loud. It's all good in my head, but the moment I say it out loud, wait a min… I'm not able to say it loud, that's the problem. I suddenly feel tongue tied or words desert me when I've to say it and when I recover from that state, I'd start tip toeing around the subject, see definitely not wiser. But since I don't like to challenge age old saying and beliefs and also for your sake and my sake, let's just say that I became wiser by a pinch.
Wiser or not, I did bake a b'day cake for myself for a change. Usually, I don't bake cake for my b'day and also it's not a big deal, we both just go out for dinner some place nice and that's it. Since this time, it fell on a weekend, our friends came over for lunch and we had a great time. About the cake, it wasn't anything fancy in looks, but taste wise, it was a “killer” cake. Well that's the exact word our friends used to describe the cake. If you go through the ingredient list, you'll know why. It's just one of those recipes, where the ingredients do the majority of the work and you just need to facilitate it. I had a Red Velvet cake mix with me and was looking for an occasion to bake it. How I ended up with a box cake is a different story all together, but that led to this cake, so I'm happy.
Sadly, my cake pictures didnt turn out that well, but I'm going to share it with you anyway. Apart from this cake being sinful, the qty is big enough to feed a crowd. So it will be a while, before I bake this again and I didnt want you to miss this super dessert recipe. If you are planning a get together or a potluck party, this is a must try, trust me.
Here is the recipe…
Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk (refer notes for substitute)
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 12-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- For the Frosting:
- 8 ounces 224 gms butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces 224 gms cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4¼ cups powdered sugar (refer notes)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the eggs. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth, about 1 minutes.
- Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another 2 minutes until completely combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top into an even layer with a spatula. Bake until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately poke holes all over the top of the cake. You can use the end of a wooden spoon, a skewer, the tines of a fork, etc. Slowly pour the can of condensed milk all over the top of the cake, making sure to drizzle it evenly all over the top. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
- Make the Frosting:
- Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cake and decorate as desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
Hi, Can I bake it on stove??
Hi Elsa,
I haven’t yet tried it that way, so I don’t know how it works.
Hi Maria,
Can u please provide your cup measurement in ml?
what is distilled white vinegar? Is it ok to use the normal vinegar that we buy for cooking?
Yes, you can use normal vinegar that you use for cooking.
Hey Maria…. I had initially messaged you asking you how to get my cakes right as I was not getting it correct..
But this time , its to thank you..I studies my oven properly and started trying your recipes and sooo soo very happy that its cumng out well..
I tried red velvet cake and white chocolate cake too. Both was really tasty. Hope to try more f ua recipes. :)
Hi Maria, belated happy birthday.
Which type of red colour is using.powder or liquid
Thanks Bindu :) I use liquid red food colour.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria, Can you please tell which brand of red foodcolour did u use ? Thanks.
Hi Roshini,
I use Foster Clark’s red food colour..
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria, can you share with me which red food colour u used ? I am presently in oman.Thanks .
Hi Roshini,
For this particular recipe, I used a box cake, as mentioned on the site. However, I’ve used Foster Clarks red colour for making Red Velvet Cupcakes..
hi maria..ur recipies r awsum…..specially ur red velvt cake…..i tried it. fantastic taste…hoping mor recipies lik dis from u..
Hi Mariam
Thank you very much :) Really happy to know that this recipe came out well for you..
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I doubt if the colour measurement of 6 tablespoon is correct. I used Bush Red colour (in India) and added as per the recipe and it turned to be very very salty.
I was very disappointed as the cake was a surprise for my daughter’s birthday. Could you please check if the ingredients and measurements are correct
Hi Sibi,
I’m so sorry to hear that the cake didnt come out well :((
As I’ve mentioned in the notes section of the recipe, I used box cake to make this. But some of my readers and friends have tried this recipe with baking cake from scratch and nobody has mentioned about the cake being salty. So I’m not sure why it happened like that.
I do hope it comes out well next time, if you plan to give it a chance one more time. May be you can try reducing the colour n see. I do hope that it comes out great and it will cheer up your daughter.
Once again, I’m sorry it didnt work out on such a special occasion.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria
Made this cake today..bt it is taking more time to bake than what said in the recipe..I kept in 350f for 30mins bt when I inserted the skewer it was still liquidy..didn’t come it clean??!!..
Is it like that or did I make a mistake smwhr?
Hi Anitha,
Though it’s mentioned 30 mins, the timing may vary depending on the size of the cake tin and also for diff ovens.
I do hope it came out well in the end.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria
Yes..that might b the reason as i used a diffent kind of baking dish than wht was given in ur recipe..i baked the cake for almost 45 to 50mns. Anyway the cake came out excellant!!.. My hubby and son lovd it to the core!!..thanku soo much for the recipe
Anitha
ohk.. anyways good to hear that the cake came out well and your family liked it. Thanks for letting me know about it :)
Cheers
Maria
Hey, I made the red velvet poke cake for my birthday too…it was amazing and moist and also had that distinct astringent taste of a great velvet cake…
All of the recipes that I have tried till date have been nothing less than great! Thanks :) :)
Hi Shweta,
Belated b’day wishes to you. Hope you had a great day.
The pics look great! I’m really happy that you chose this cake for your special day and that you liked it.
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback here.
Cheers
Maria
Thanks Maria!! You writing back made my day :)
Also, I used lemon juice instead of vinegar and it came out just as well :)
You are welcome dear :)
Wish you a fabulous new year!
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I am eager to try out your cake recipe..A request from me..Can you give the ingredients measurements in weight (gms) instead of cups.. I had previous instances when the cup measurements did’nt give best results.
Hi Bindhu,
Please check out the below link:
http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Hope you get to bake this soon and like it too.. Happy baking :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi maria,
cake was so moist….it was super hit…..
thanks again
sonu
You are welcome Sonu :) So good to know that cake was a hit.
Thanks a lot for your comment!
Cheers
Maria
Hey Maria nice pic.
Thank you Nisha :)
Thank you!
Yes, you can use your hand mixer..
Hi Shalini,
Thank you so much for your comment :) Great to know that you like the blog!
Yep, I try my best to reply to each and every comment n mail, though it might take some time ;)
No need to change the temp, but baking time can be reduced to 20 mins or so. However keep a close watch after first 15 mins..
yep white vinegar is same as natural vinegar.
Hope you get to try this soon and like it too..
Happy baking :)
Cheers
Maria
happy birthday maria!!!! as u said the cake luks yummmm..will try
Thank you so much :)
Does we need baking powder here?
Hi Reeba,
In this recipe baking soda n salt is used as raising agents, so you dont need baking powder.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria
Great fan of your blog. The recipes of urs can be tried with no doubt :)
I would like to know if i can use paneer to make cream cheese frosting?
Thanks
Hi Tammut,
Thank you! Nice to know that you like the recipes here..
I havent tried using paneer, so I’m not sure. If you are based in India, you can use Amul cheese spread instead of cream cheese.
Happy Bday dear Maria… Sweet snap of you and your dear ones! And the cake looks stunning too,will try for sure!
Thank you Lisha :) Hope you’ll like it. Happy baking!
Cheers
Maria
Wishing you the treasure of happy yesterdays and the gift of bright
tomorrows……….belated happy birthday maria…………nice pic dear
Thanks a lot Swathy :)
Belated Birthday Wishes :-)
Thanks Jisha :)
Belated Birthday Wishes..
Thanks Asha :)
Belated birthday wishes Maria chechi.. Feels like eating this cake at one go :P .. Looks yummy ..
Thanks Sangeetha :) Go ahead and grab the slices ;)
Oops sorry! It turns out I had asked u the same last year, and u had added a note to that recipe asking us to use amul cheese spread instead! thx :) So my query is answered I guess
Rini, I do hope you get to try this cake sometime soon :) Happy baking and eating!
Hey Maria! I loooove red velvet cake, and have baked it before. I just have one problem. Cream cheese isn’t available out here in India.. Would u share how to make cream cheese at home? I hope u knw.. pls help me out! thx!