Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Icing (Paula Deen)

I seen this on Paula Deen's Paula's Home Cooking and have been making this one ever since! Makes a great cake for Christmas or Valentine's Day! Very pretty cake too; I take the coconut and pecans and press only into the sides of the cake ( I make it as a round two layer cake), makes for a very pretty presentation!!!

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 12-15
• Yields: 1 cake

Ingredients

• For Cake

• 2  cups sugar
• 1  cup butter (2 sticks)
• 2  eggs
• 2  tablespoons  cocoa
• 2  ounces  red food coloring
• 2 1⁄2 cups cake flour
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1  tablespoon vinegar

• For Icing

• 8  ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1⁄2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1  cup marshmallow creme
• 1 (1 lb) box powdered sugar
• 1  cup coconut, shredded (optional)
• 1  cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl cream sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs on at a time.
4. Mix cocoa and food coloring together in a small bowl; add to mixture and mix well.
5. Sift together cake flour and salt.
6. Add flour to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour.
7. Blend in vanilla.
8. In a small bowl combine baking soda and vineager. Add to mixture.
9. Pour batter into 2 9inch or 3 8 inch cake pans.
10. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done.
11. Cool completely before frosting.
12. For Icing:
13. Blend cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl.
14. Add marshmallow creme and sugar; blend well.
15. Fold in coconut and nuts if desired (or what I always do is press them into just the sides of the cake after I get the icing on it; very pretty this way!).
16. Spread between layers and on top and sides of cooled cake.