Fantastic Red Velvet Cake

While it may seem a bit difficult to make at first, red velvet cake is a type of cake that just about every person will love to eat every once in a while. The trick is to find a recipe that you can easily follow and like the results of. Here is a wonderful red velvet cake recipe that you will simply love. Not only are the results wonderful, but you will have a cake you can be proud of in just over an hour.

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil (to coat pans)
• 2-1/2 cups flour (white, all purpose)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Favorite type of cream cheese frosting
• Crushed nuts for garnish (pecans, almonds, your favorite)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven. Set the temperature of your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time you are finished making the batter, the oven will be ready for baking. Once you have set the temperature, grease or oil three round (9 inch by 1-1/2 inch) cake pans. When the cake pans have been greased or oiled, lightly flour the pans as well to help promote a nonstick cooking surface.
2. Sift dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, begin sifting or mixing, the various dry ingredients for your batter. These will include things like the all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Continue to mix all of these items together, until they are well mixed.
3. Whisk wet ingredients. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine and whisk together the wet ingredients such as the oil, milk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Whisk everything together until it is all evenly distributed.
4. Make the batter. Preferably using a standing mixer, or with the help of a friend holding a hand mixer, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Continue to work the ingredients together until the batter is even and smooth.
5. Divide the batter. When the batter is finished, divide it into the three cake pans. You should have just enough batter to fill each one up to the same level. Be careful that you don't overfill the pans, or the cake could expand over the side of the pan.
6. Bake. Place the cake pans into the oven, making sure that they are evenly spaced apart when you do so. Allow the cake to bake for about 15 minutes and then rotate the pans. After rotating, allow them to bake for another 15 minutes.
7. Remove and cool. The cake will be finished when you can perform the toothpick test with good results. The toothpick test is when you stick a toothpick into the cake, remove it, and it comes back free from any cake. Remove the finished cake from the oven, and allow it to cool prior to frosting.
8. Frost and serve. When the cakes have finished cooling, go head and begin frosting them. Frost each cake, along the sides and tops, and then stack one on top of another until you have one three layered cake. Sprinkle the nuts that you want onto the cake as a garnish, and then cut the cakes into the slices, and enjoy.

If you are not going to serve the cake right away, set it aside for later serving. Do this by placing the cake into a cake protector, and then storing it in an out of the way location. As long as the cake is kept relatively cool, it should last for a few days. If you are willing to refrigerate the cake, it will last for up to a week and a half. Typically though, this type of cake is best eaten within a day or two of being made.