Mom's Oops-Tastic Red Velvet Cake

luvn-n-the-oven's Note:

My mom has always made the best red velvet cake you've ever put in your mouth - really! I've had her recipe for years, and recently I searched other red velvet cake recipes to see what the differences were between those and mom's. The only difference I could find was in the amount of vinegar. I pointed out the difference to my mom, and she pulled out the old hand-written recipe that was given to her by one of her long-time friends and co-workers. Additionally, she pulled out the recipe where she re-wrote her friend's recipe. It was then that we discovered my mom had accidentally written "1 tablespoon" instead of "1 teaspoon" of white vinegar. I suppose it was an "OOPS" on her part, but it's the tastiest OOPS you've ever had. Prep time includes the approximate time to frost the cake.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 25 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12-15

Yield: 1.0 cake

CAKE

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 (1 ounce) bottles red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

FROSTING

• 1 (16 ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream sugar and oil.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
4. Sift flour three times (re-measure flour to get 2 1/4 cups after sifting -- flour seems to grow after it's been sifted); add salt and baking soda to dry mixture.
5. Add 1/4 of flour and 1/4 of buttermilk to mixture. Beat well.
6. Repeat until all is incorporated.
7. Add vanilla and vinegar; beat well.
8. Slowly add food coloring, stirring by hand until well mixed.
9. Pour into three greased and floured (or just use the cooking spray designed for baking) 8-inch pans.
10. Bake 21-25 minutes, or until sides begin to pull away from pan; cool thoroughly on wire rack.
11. For frosting: cream together the margarine and cream cheese.
12. Gradually add the box of powdered sugar.
13. Add vanilla and mix well.
14. Spread evenly over cooled cake layers.
15. NOTE: This amount of frosting is a little sparse for me. I usually make an additional half batch to frost the cake. Hope you enjoy!

Reviews

[Sweet Jezebel]

Baked this for a potluck at work and it was quite popular! I don't eat red velvet cake myself, but in the south, it's a no-brainer for picnics, potlucks and parties. All I brought home was a cake plate with a few smudges of frosting left. Thanks for posting! Made and reviewed for Fall '09 PAC.