Red Velvet Birthday Cake Recipes

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.
• In a medium bowl or on a piece of waxed paper, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter.
• Beat in eggs one at a time.
• Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk.
• Beat in food coloring and vinegar, then add vanilla.
• Spread the batter evenly in the pans.
• Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Turn out onto a rack to cool.
• Frosting: Blend cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl.
• Add marshmallows and sugar and blend.
• Fold in nuts.
• Spread between layers and on top and sides of cooled cake.

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease two 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, coconut oil and granulated sugar. Cream together on medium speed, scraping the bottom and sides with a rubber spatula as needed, until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, beating each until fully incorporated. Add the food coloring, vanilla and vinegar and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in 2 to 3 alternating additions and beat until just combined. Divide the batter between the cake pans, spreading it out evenly.
• Bake until the sides of the cakes start to pull away from the pans and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the pans, then invert onto racks and let cool completely.
• Trim the top of each cake layer to make a flat surface. Place the bottom cake layer on a turntable or something easy to rotate. Dollop about a third of the Frosting on the cake layer and spread with an offset spatula in an even layer to the edge. Top with the second cake layer, cut-side down. Frost the sides and top, then decorate with chopped pistachios or sprinkles as desired. Use icing gel to write "Happy Birthday," if desired.
• Cream together the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla and whip, scraping down the sides as necessary, until combined, light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 medium sheet pans, or 2 (8-inch) round cake pans.
• In a bowl, sift flour and salt together. In an electric stand mixer, combine butter and sugar at medium speed. Add vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and then cocoa powder. Reduce mixer speed to low. Stream in half of the buttermilk, then slowly add half of the flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk and remaining flour. In a separate bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda, and mix into the batter. Add red food coloring and combine well. Once thoroughly mixed, divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans. Slice, as desired, and serve.
• This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Steps:

• Cream shortening,butter, and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time.
• Mix together food coloring and cocoa powder with a small whisk until blended; add to shortening mixture and mix well.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Add a little of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then a little of the buttermilk, alternating back and forth until you have added all the flour mixture and all of the buttermilk.
• Stir in vanilla and vinegar with a spoon until blended.
• Pour into two 9" round cake tins lined with greased parchment paper.
• Bake in a preheated 350 F oven about 35 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean.
• Let cool on wire racks in pans.
• Meanwhile, prepare frosting by whisking together the milk and the flour in a saucepan (no heat yet) until blended well.
• Turn heat on (low to medium low) and while stirring, and cook until it forms a thick paste, about 10 minutes (yes, really this long, possibly longer depending on the day).
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• When cool, put mixture into a mixing bowl and add all of the remaining ingredients except the optional food coloring.
• Beat until it is thick and peaks form like whipped cream, adding food coloring desired once it thickens (have patience, this will take several minutes even using an electric mixer).
• Frost the top only of the first cake layer, then top with second layer and frost entire cake as desired.
• I like to tint the frosting a bright red or pink to make this really, really red, but you may leave it white (more traditional) or tint it any other color you prefer (In the movie"Steel Magnolias," they tinted the frosting grey and made a groom's cake in the shape of an armadillo!).
• Hint: A whole 2 ounce bottle of food coloring usually equals 1/4 cup.

Steps:

• To make the cake: Set the oven to 350°F and adjust the rack positions to the middle and top third. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans well with baking spray.
• Sift the flour with the baking soda.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs well, then beat in the sugar, oil, and vinegar. On low speed, slowly add the flour and beat in well. Add the buttermilk slowly, then the vanilla, and then the food coloring.
• Pour the batter evenly into the pans and rap them on the countertop several times to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans from shelf to shelf so they bake evenly and bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes altogether. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 15 minutes.
• Run a knife around the sides of the pans and invert the cakes onto the racks to cool completely. Once they're cool, refrigerate the cakes for 20 to 30 minutes to make icing them easier.
• To make the icing: Combine everything in a medium bowl and mix well until very smooth. It's best to use the icing right away, when it's soft and spreadable.
• Put one cake layer upside down on a cake plate or cake stand and cover the top evenly with frosting. Add a second layer, right side up, and spread with more frosting. Top with the third layer, right side up, and spread the frosting evenly around the sides of the cake and on top; check for any places where you can see through to the cake. Finally, sprinkle the pecans evenly all over the top of the cake.
• Once the frosting sets, cut into slices to serve. This cake keeps for up to 2 weeks in a cake keeper, but once it's ready, people want to dive right in.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base and sides of two 20cm cake tins with baking parchment - if your cake tins are quite shallow, line the sides to a depth of at least 5cm.
• Put half each of the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. If there are any lumps in the sugar, squeeze these through your fingers to break them up.
• Mix half each of the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, food colouring and 100ml water in a jug. Add 2 eggs and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until well combined. The cake mixture should be bright red, it will get a little darker as it cooks. If it's not as vivid as you'd like, add a touch more colouring. Pour the cake mixture evenly into the two tins, and bake for 25-30 mins, or until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool.
• Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the remaining ingredients, so you have four sponge cakes in total. Can be made up to three days ahead and will stay moist if wrapped in cling film, or you can wrap well and freeze for up to two months.
• To make the icing, put the butter in a large bowl and sieve in half the icing sugar. Roughly mash together with a spatula, then whizz with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the soft cheese and vanilla, sieve in the remaining icing sugar, mash together again, then blend once more with the hand mixer.
• To assemble the cake, stick one of the sponges to a cake stand or board with a little of the soft cheese icing. Use roughly half the icing to stack the remaining cakes on top, spreading a generous amount between each layer. Pile the remaining icing on top of the assembled cake, and use a palette knife to ease it over the edges, covering the entire surface of the cake. Tidy the plate with a piece of kitchen paper. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, but bring back to room temperature for an hour or so before eating.This recipe was refreshed in July 2018 based on user feedback. For the original recipe, see our beetroot cake.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Prepare cake according to package directions, substituting half of the water called for with buttermilk (approximately 1/2 cup). Stir in pudding mix and food coloring.
• Pour into cake pan(s) and bake according to package directions.