Blue Velvet Cake

Well, my cousin is in town! She didn't just bring her husband and her bags this time though. She brought some good news! She's going to be a mother! I'm incredibly excited to be an "aunt." And just between you and me, I'm excited that she is one, hungry pregnant woman! So I have promised to make her a bunch of sweets over the next week. The first of these sweets?

Blue velvet cake!

It's moist, flavorful and just plain fun to eat. So we ran out to the store to buy buttermilk, and here we are...! The recipe is adapted off of a red velvet cupcake recipe by Paula Deen!

Are you ready to get messy?
You should be by now.

Non-edible Materials:

Two 9-inch round cake pans.
Non-stick cooking spray.

Edible Materials:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour.
1 1/2 cup of sugar.
1 teaspoon of baking soda.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.
1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil.
1 cup of room-temperature buttermilk.
2 large, room-temperature eggs.
2 tablespoons of blue food coloring(or red if you wanna be like that...)
1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar.
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Let's get started.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease both of your cake pans with the cooking spray and dust them with flour. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, carefully sift together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
4. In a large bowl, mix the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Avoid smelling it, you will regret it!
5. Add the flour mixture in parts until the batter is thick and smooth. Be sure not to mix it more than it needs.
6. Fill the cakepans about half way with the batter and baker for about 28-30 minutes.
7. Test with a toothpick before removing from heat. Let them cool on the stovetop for about 10 minutes. Then flip them over onto a cooling rack and let them sit for an hour.

8. Let's take a break to make some cream cheese frosting!

8 ounces of softened cream cheese.
1 stick of softened butter.
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
2 cups of confectioner's sugar.

Cream together butter, vanilla and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar carefully on a slow speed. The end result should be creamy and smooth.

9. Transfer one of the cakes onto a plate and begin icing!
10. Carefully place the other cake on top and ice the rest. Don't miss the sides...!
11. Garnish with a lovely strawberry and eat with a glass of milk. <3