Classic Red Velvet Cake

July is the month of many birthdays at home but unfortunately both the birthday boy and girl have not been at home as they went outstation for some work taking away my chance to bake a cake. 

To save my urge to bake the cake, I saw a daring baker's challenge which is the most toughest for me as the challenge was to choose a recipe from the past challenges and make. The hardest part was choosing the recipe to make. Well, there is a long list of things I wanted to make and I keep adding in my already very long "to make list of baking". I chose to make a red velvet cake from March 2007 daring baker's challenge. This cake was made on the birthday of my lovely brother in law who was shooting in Goa for a film (he is a cinematographer you see..:))

To top the challenge, I wanted to frost the cake with homemade quark cheese. I got a very nice recipe of Quark cheese from GermanFood.About.com and decided to get started.

The cake turned out deep dark red and I loved the flavour of the cake. I also loved the combination of red velvet cake with quark cheese and it is needless to say how beautiful the cake was looking with the combination of red and white...truly festive!!! Isn't it??? Perfect to try it during Christmas or Valentine's Day!!! Would love to make it again during the next Valentine's Day.

And now for you, here's the recipe.

(Print this recipe)

Red Velvet Cake

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Assembly Time: 30 minutes
Quark Cheese Preparation Time: 2 days





Here's what you would need to make Red Velvet Cake

Cake:
2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda


Frosting:
2 cups/ 459 gms homemade Quark Cheese/ cream cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups (400 ml) cold whipping cream (I used Amul)

Here's how you can make it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

• In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). 
• Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). 
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
• Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.
• In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. 
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
• In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 
• Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. 
• Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. 
• Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. 
• Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: 
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the quark cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. In another bowl whip the whipped cream until soft peaks. Add the whipped cream in quark cheese and stir until well combined. Ensure the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble:

With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the cake with white chocolate and cake crumbs. 

Hope you would also enjoy making this recipe as much as I did.

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Happy Baking!