Grandma Paul's Red Velvet!

Sorry for the delay! I was quite busy at home to post this recipe...but since i'm free now (i'm at work!) i'll post this now! ｡◕‿◕｡

I have baked GRANDMA PAUL'S RED VELVET CAKE so many times i've lost count! And everytime, it is a winner both at home (my mom & dad love it so much that i've baked it for them most of the time) and at work (my friends and employees like them too).

I was asked many times why my cake is different from others, the answer is simple. PAULA DEEN. Honestly, i've had other red velvets and other people's recipes but the moment i saw Paula bake this on TV (Paula's Party on Food Network) i knew that i have to try it pronto! I love EVERYTHING PAULA DEEN. Her "Y'ALL", her SONS (oh gosh they are darn cute), her FOOD and most of all her crazy beautiful southern self!

OK. Enough about my schoolgirl fangirling obsession over Paula Deen (in which i myself think is very weird. haha) and on to the real topic, THE RECIPE! FYI:Recipe is altered from original to my average culinary knowledge.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk*
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cup cake flour
1 block of butter /250gm
1 bottle red food coloring (i use STAR BRAND)
2 tablespoons cocoa (i use Van Houten)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (A grade or atleast B)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar**

*i found buttermilk in Tesco but if you can't find it you can add one TABLESPOON VINEGAR to ONE CUP of WHOLE MILK / FRESH MILK. Low fat is a no-no! Leave this mixture for atleast 15 minute. The milk will sort of curdle and look like it has gone bad...but it's not! The milk is now ready to be used as a substitute for buttermilk.

**i use variety of vinegar, from pomegranates to dates to plain white vinegar.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. First sift together flour and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
In another bowl, mix cocoa and food coloring. 
Add eggs one by one to butter mixture; mix well. 
Add flour to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. 
Blend in vanilla. 
In a small bowl, combine soda and vinegar and add to mixture. 
Pour into three 8-inch round greased and floured pans. 
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tests done.

FROSTING: PAULA DEEN used a rich cream cheese frosting with pecans and shredded coconuts for her Red Velvet, and because i'm a cheapo (i can't afford pecans..tsk.tsk), i used plain cream cheese frosting with either rainbow/choco sprinkles or mini chocochips on top. My version of plain cream cheese frosting can be found here. It's at the bottom of the post.

*picture updated! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ 16feb2013/12:09am

*the original recipe can be found here!

My Mom's SuperSimple Butter Cake Recipe

Here is the recipe for the weird looking sandwich-cookie chocolate cake that i made for my nephew's birthday today....it's fairly simple...and MIND YOU, I BAKE THIS NOT IN AN OVEN BUT ATOP A STOVE! HONEST, JUST LIKE MOST OF THE CAKES I BAKED AND POSTED HERE ON MY BLOG. (inside this "primitive" periuk that my mom bought decades ago.) *cause i'm poor....i don't have a decent oven for cake-baking..only a cheap one that do good on cookies.... tsk.tsk.

image from google, cause mine look waaaaaaayyy 

old and used than this...hahaha

usually i bake in this for about 45min to an hour (depends on density of cake) shorter time for cuppies ofcourse! and i use toothpick or satay stick to poke the cake to see if its bake through.

ok. back to topic....the cake recipe:

FOR BUTTER CAKE:
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
3 medium sized eggs (4 if small)
2 teaspoon vanilla essence

FOR CHOCOLATE BUTTER CAKE:
*add this to above recipe;
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk (krimer manis)

*start with preheating your oven if you're fancy-schmancy and using a convetional oven...UNLIKE ME....... T___T
1. sift flour with baking powder, (add cocoa powder for chocolate cake or leave it out for plain cake).
2. mix dry ingredients well and set aside.
3. cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. add eggs one by one, beat until incorporated well.
5. add vanilla.
6. add dry mixture to wet mixture.
7. if making chocolate cake, add sweetened condensed milk afterward. (doesn't matter to me when i put this in, really...)
8. mix well.
9. pour in 8 inch cake pan.
10. bake ( IN your conventional oven OR) on top of the stove like ME! check the cake after 40 mins and poke a toothpick through it and if it comes out clean then its done!

CHOCOLATE GANACHE (top)
1 bar of dark chocolate (cooking chocolate is okay too)/ i used van houten
1/2 bar of milk chocolate/ i used cadbury
1 cup of heavy cream

1. chop up chocolates and place in microwaveable container
2. microwave for about 1 min
3. carefully stir chocolate
4. add cream and stir well until chocolate and cream is together
5. if you're using double boiling method then that's ok too

FILLING (easy cream cheese filling or frosting for any kind of cake)
1 package cream cheese (12 oz)
1 block unsalted butter (250gm)
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tablepoon vanilla extract

1. whip em all up!
2. there may be leftover (if used as filling like i did). it can be stored in air-tight container and in the fridge for as long as 1 month (from experience its still good). and when you need to use it again, just whip it up again..easy as that!

There you go! HAPPY BAKING!