mondomulia

Back in the summer I made a Red Velvet cake for my boyfriend's 30th birthday. It was delicious and a great success with our friends!

I used a recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery, a famous cupcake shop in Notting Hill, London, which I urge you all to visit soon! The recipe is for cupcakes, but I adapted it to make a cake instead, adjusting the doses a little (I had to double the amount of creamcheese frosting)!

Mind you, this recipe is not a quick one to make, but no matter how many hours it will take, it'll be worth it!

The result was a dark red cake, the chocolate dominating over the red colouring!

Ingredients

* 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature * 150g caster sugar * 1 egg * 10g cocoa powder * 20ml red food colouring * ½ tsp vanilla extract * 120ml buttermilk * 150g plain flour * ½ tsp salt * ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda * 1½ tsp white wine vinegar

For the frosting: * 500g icing sugar, sifted * 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature * 250g cream cheese

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Mix the butter and the sugar with an electric whisk until fluffy and well mixed. Slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured. Slowly pour in half the buttermilk and mix, then add half the flour and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.

Spoon the mixture into a cake tin and bake in the oven for 20–25 mins. Leave the cake to cool down.

For the frosting: beat the icing sugar and butter together with a wooden spoon, then add the cream cheese and mix until it is completely incorporated. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, for at least 5 minutes. Keep in the fridge for 15 minutes.

When the cake is cold, spoon over the cream cheese frosting on the top and sides. Sprinkle coconut flakes to add a personal touch to the decoration.