A Southern Grace: jingo! jingo! jingo!

July 4, 2011

jingo! jingo! jingo!

Yum

A zealous patriot, I am not. That's not to say that I don't sometimes like the Patriots (or, er...one Patriot in particular) and I did enjoy the flick. It's also not to say that I'm not proud to be an American; I'm just not overzealous about it.


I am pretty zealous about this cake, though. It's the perfect dessert for a 4th of July celebration, as it consists of the appropriate colors and tastes fantastic. All I did was make a regular red velvet cake and normal cream cheese frosting and swirl in a bit of blue coloring between the layers.


Perhaps I'm more patriotic than I thought. Happy Independence Day (incidentally, that's another great movie), everyone!

Not-So-Patriotic Patriot's Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. (Enjoy the fizz show.) Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake pans and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. To remove the cakes from the pan, place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, then gently lift the pan. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. Frost oh-so-generously with cream cheese frosting.

52 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Wow, your cake is so tempting and beautiful! What perfect layers.

Cheers,

Rosa

Jannett said...

cake looks delicious... ;o)

shaz said...

I love themed food :) Happy Independence Day Grace, even if you're not feeling particularly patriotic.

Lucie said...

Oh gosh. I'm in Paris right now munching on PB M&Ms and rocky road fudge, celebrating an expat 4th of July. I wouldn't mind a slice of this fedexed to the office!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Happy July 4th!!!!!!

Lisa | Authentic Suburban Gourmet said...

What a perfect 4th of July cake! I adore Red Velvet cake and yours looks simply divine. Enjoy the holiday!

Carolyn Jung said...

What a perfect occasion for a bright-red, layered cake. Happy Fourth to you!

Gloria Baker said...

OMG Grace you always amazed me!! This Cake look georgeous and love the pictures, Happy 4th july! gloria

Rhubarb Cake said...

Happy Independence Day from Canada! Wow...that cake looks like it is sitting right in front of me to eat!! *wishful thinking* lol
Beautiful cake, AND amazing photography! great site btw!

Angie's Recipes said...

That's a beautifully layered cake! oh man..look at the frosting, which could have melted me away!

Von said...

Happy Independence Day! This cake looks delicious....I want some of that icing! :D

Barbara said...

Super moist cake, Grace! I've never made a red velvet anything..have no idea why. The 4th is such a perfect holiday for it too. Hope you saw some fireworks!

The Blonde Duck said...

I hope you had a good 4th!

Joanne said...

Red velvet is one of the few things in life that I'm over overzealous about. This is gorgeous.

Marla said...

Now this is a layer cake that I would not be able to keep my hands off of. Perfect for any day with a giant mug of coffee.

Jescel said...

Oh, you're cake made me drool. It looks so moist and so inviting... dang, i gotta make me some now! LOL!

Jennifer said...

Beautiful as always you baking goddess! I hope you had a great 4th of July!

Hungry Dog said...

Red velvet is one of my faves--so pretty and cheerful. I'll have to try this (maybe in cupcake form...)

Marjie said...

I once made a red velvet cake, but it was not as red as yours. Of course, being unable to find a big bottle of red food coloring didn't help any. Your cake was just beautiful!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

I love red velvet cake! Perfect for the holiday :)

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

I know exactly what you mean! I definitely love my country but I don't like to go around shoving it in everyone's face or anything. Love this easy, delicious way to get into the patriotic spirit. Hope you had a great July 4th!

Foodhoe said...

Wow is that cake red! I particularly like the intensity of the colors, and want to scoop up a fingerful of the frosting

pam said...

If only I could take a fork and reach right through this screen!

Robin said...

Hey we both made a Patriotic cake! I made that flag cake that was all over the web last week. The best part of the movie Patriot was Heath Ledger. Oh my!

Faith said...

I'm always up for Red Velvet Cake and yours is gorgeous, Grace! Hope you had a wonderful Independence Day!

oneordinaryday said...

Oh yes, Heath Ledger. :) Nice cake, too!

Emily Malloy said...

Holy Moses.

sweetlife said...

love the intense color, yummy! perfect for any holiday!

Lisa-Marie said...

Your thin layers of cake look so much more delicious than just two normal ones! Must try!

The Teacher Cooks said...

Love Red Velvet Cake!

Kerstin said...

Mmm, I wish I was enjoying a big piece of this right now - yum!!

Emily said...

Red velvet cake is my favorite! Yours looks great!

Desserts In My Kitchen said...

Yummy, red velvet is one of my favorite cakes. Nice food blog you have here :)

Chef Fresco said...

OMG wow this looks seriously amazing! We've only attempted red velvet cake and it did not look nearly as tasty as this one. =)

Rosita Vargas said...

El bizcocho luce muy lindo,especial para una buena celebraciĆ³n ,es bueno ser patriota,abrazos grandes y felicitaciones por el aniversario,amo EEUU.

Desi said...

That is simply beautiful. Red velvet is my all-time favorite cake. I wanted to let you know about my cookbook giveaway that is going on right now until July 16th. Stop on by to enter! Hope you are having a great week :)

http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-first-giveaway.html

Sweet Treats 'n Good Eats said...

God bless America! That looks so moist and delicious. One of my all time favorites. Yummy!

Lori said...

It used to be cookies for me. Now it is cake.... love the cake. Can you pass that one my way?

Mimi said...

The perfect way to celebrate the 4th or any other day.
Mimi

myinnerchick.com said...

~~This cake is Pure Sin!!! I want that sin NOW! :)

tinytearoom said...

I love red velvet cake. Ive made it several times already and I am not American.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Grace, can I become a citizen of your land (hehe Grace-land?) so that I can partake of this cake? :D

MrsLavendula said...

wow these photos got my sweet tooth acting up!

Alicia Foodycat said...

That really is the perfect cake! It looks amazing.

Erica said...

Wow!!!!!That cake looks soooo good ....I am drooling here!

tamilyn said...

Give me a fork-I'm diving in!

vanillasugarblog said...

grace that frosting looks so creamy! wow. you really outdid yourself on this one. A+ gracie pie!

kat said...

Love, love red velvet!

Deborah said...

Red Velvet is my favorite!!

Maria said...

What a luscious cake!

Nic said...

Oh my, that's just gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Oh my! Bless your heart :) This looks so good and reminds me of my favorite Deep South Red Velvet cake. Sure makes me miss being back home in NC. 3000 miles from home is so far, but I may just have to make this to give me a little taste of home! I am also gonna have to follow your blog. Nice to see some Southern cooking on here :)