Red Velvet Cake...

In my mind, once December arrives, cooking and baking should commence with a vengeance.  Unfortunately, December also brings about finals week and throws my entire life into chaos.  This is the reason that it has taken me so long to catch up on all the things I have baked/cooked in the last month. 
My brother is also fortunate that his birthday is December 16th, so he often gets me at my cooking best.  Sadly, by the time we got around to celebrating his birthday, I was not in the mood to follow anymore directions, not even a recipe!  Although my cake was tasty; I failed to follow the directions perfectly and wound up with a really, really dense but delicious brick!  The icing for this cake is absolutely divine; I think that it would also taste great on a Devil's Food cake.  Give it a shot, but just make sure to read first and not assume. 

Red Velvet Cake (From Paula Deen and the Food Network)

2 cups sugar

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 ounces red food coloring (I only added 1 oz because sometimes this ingredient causes me to get migraines, so for safety's sake, I limited it)

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk (You can make this with a cup of milk and a tablespoon of vinegar, mix and let sit for a few minutes)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon vinegar

Icing

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup melted marshmallows

1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar

Once you frost it, you can sprinkle on toasted coconut and pecans if you desire

To make the cake:

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture.  (This is where I chose to ignore the instructions and the reason my cake is so dense!!!!) Pour batter into 2  round greased and floured pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool completely before frosting.

To make the icing:

Take half the stick of butter and melt in a saucepan over low on the stove.  Add the cup of marshmellows and melt until a liquid.  Pour warm marshmellow butter liquid over the other half of the stick of butter in a mixing bowl and mix in the box of confectioner's sugar.  Mix this with an electric mixer and then put into a cool place, like the refrigerator, so the mixture can solidify a bit.  Frost the cake once it is cool and enjoy! 

The Paula Deen Link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grandmother-pauls-red-velvet-cake-recipe/index.html