Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

This red velvet cake is my daughter Amy’s favorite.   She requests this cake every year for her birthday.  Her critiques through the years have helped me get this cake just right.  So I name it in her honor.

Inspired by Solomon’s Oak

Prep Time: 20 minutes      Cook Time: 30 minutes      Makes: 1 large, three-layer, cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups of cake flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 4 tablespoons red food coloring (2 ounces)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoons vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans*.
3. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl of mixer*.  Set aside.
4. Place butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, stir in sugar.  Remove from heat and pour over flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until mixed.  Set aside.
5. Place egg yolks in a medium-size bowl and beat on high speed for 1 minute.  On low speed, beat in cocoa, then add red food coloring and vanilla.  Continue beating until fully combined, scrapping bowl.   Add egg yolk/cocoa mixture to flour/butter mixture, then buttermilk.
6. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and beat into batter.  Pour batter evenly into the three greased and floured pans.  Bake for 20 minutes.   Do not overbake!  Allow cake layers to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans and placing on rack to cool completely.

Red Velvet Frosting

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature (cream cheese can be substituted)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• white chocolate shavings for top of cake

Mix butter and mascarpone cheese until smooth.  Beat in vanilla.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar.  Frost tops and assemble layers.   Frost sides of cake and top cake with white chocolate shavings.

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