jingo! jingo! jingo!

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.