Tash's Red Velvet Cake

In a post not so long ago I mentioned my most recent challenge: baking the perfect red velvet cupcake for the lovely Natasha. Last term, my college at Oxford had an "Auction of Promises" in aid of our charity Vacation Project, and I promised Tash a freshly baked cake of her choice.

Unbeknownst to me however, Tash wanted a red velvet cake. A cake I had vowed never to make again due to baking failures in the past.

However, i've spent my Easter Vacation very productively; attempting to create the perfect red velvet cake. And I have to say (although we'll leave the final judgement to Tash herself), I think I managed it!

I used the Hummingbird Recipe but tweaked and amended it a little, here it is:

120g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
2 eggs
20g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp red food colouring gel
Tsp vanilla extract
240ml buttermilk
300g plain flour
Tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp white wine vinegar

600g icing sugar (for the cream cheese icing)
100g unsalted butter (for the cream cheese icing)
250g cream cheese (for the cream cheese icing)

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease two large cake tins (approx 23cm)

Put the butter and the sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the vanilla extract.

In a jug, mix the food colouring gel into the buttermilk. Leave to the side. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and bicarbonate of soda.  Pour the buttermilk into the egg and sugar mixture, and beat well. Next, sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Beat well, until you have a smooth, even mixture. Add the white wine vinegar and beat again.

Divide the mixture evenly between the two cake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool slightly in their tins before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the cream cheese frosting: Beat the icing sugar and butter together, then add the cream cheese and beat until well incorporated. Do NOT over-beat, as the mixture can become runny quickly.

When the cake is completely cool, ice it with the cream cheese mixture, sandwiching the two layers together and icing the top and sides as you please.

Another impressive cake from the Hummingbird Bakery book is this carrot cake!

My latest challenge...

A year or so ago, following a trip to the Hummingbird Bakery in London, I attempted to make red velvet cake.

To make a long story short: it went horrifically wrong.
However hard I tried I could not create that stunning scarlet colour, and the flavour was one of musty stodgy chocolate, not the light, fluffy sponge of the Hummingbird Bakery version.

Not being one to take defeat well, obviously I resolved never to attempt to make it again.

Until, that is, a recent 'Auction of Promises' at college - for which I promised a homemade cake of the highest bidders choice to be delivered in the first day of Trinity Term.

And, woe and behold; the winner chose red velvet cake.

So, my Easter Vac has been spent trying to perfect this challenging recipe, the results of which have been encouraging!

I've been experimenting with different recipes; the one photographed above was Rachel Allen's with a cream cheese frosting. It was successful, however nothing can beat the Hummingbird's recipe itself. The cake is due to be delivered in 0th Week (Oxford language for "the week before term starts"), so i'll dedicate a post to the results soon!

UPDATE: The final recipe can be found HERE!