Recipe: Mini Double-Decker Red Velvet Cake

Sometimes, a craving for red velvet hits. You head for apparently good cafes, get charged a fortune for a meagre piece, and your heart sinks as the first bite slides slowly down your throat. This is usually enough to inspire a DIY red velvet, and if you are having your burst of inspiration as well, may this recipe be of much help to you! =)

Preparation Time:  30 mins

Baking Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

(All ingredients above sifted and set aside)

4 eggs

250g unsalted butter

1 ¼ cup caster sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

2 – 4 tablespoons of red food colouring

Baking pan

For the lemon cream cheese frosting:

250g cream cheese, room temperature

125g butter, room temperature

1 ½ cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 tablespoons lemon juice

*Just as a guide, we used these measurements to make 3 pieces of 6-inch cakes.

We always like to keep things simple, and here’s a hassle-free way for you to enjoy your very own red velvet desserts:

1)    Preheat oven to 175 °C.

2)    Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.

3)    Add in the eggs and vanilla essence, and mix well.

4)    Add in the sifted dry ingredients mixture (flour + cocoa powder + baking powder + baking soda + salt) alternatively with buttermilk.*

*While we’re on the subject of buttermilk, if you can’t seem to find any at the store, you can always make your own (which we honestly much prefer anyway)! Just squeeze some lemon juice into the required amount of milk, let it stand for at least 15 minutes, and voila! You’ve got yourself some buttermilk =)

5)    Once all the ingredients are evenly mixed, add in your desired amount of red colouring.

6)    Pour the batter into a greased baking pan, filling up to about half of the pan.

7)    Stick it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

8)    Once that’s done, let the cake cool thoroughly.

 

Now, for the frosting, you can always go with a basic cream cheese frosting but we like adding in a little lemon juice to give it that tangy taste that works so well with the rich velvety taste and texture of the cake.

1)    Mix the butter and cream cheese evenly until it forms a smooth blend.

2)    Add in the vanilla essence and lemon juice and mix.

3)    Gradually add in the icing sugar until you reach the desired sweetness and thickness.

4)   Once the cake is thoroughly cool, carefully cut it in half (length-wise) and spread the frosting on the lower layer with a blunt knife.

5)   Place the top layer on the filling and then pipe the rest of the frosting onto the top of the cake.If you don’t have a piping bag, you can just insert the frosting into a standard clear plastic sheet to form one. Once all the frosting is at the bottom of the plastic, just cut the corner off to begin piping.

 

And that’s all there is to it! Happy baking! =)