Luscious Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake. Layer rounds, crumb coat, chill then frost.
Garnish with a large piping and raspberries!

I made this Red Velvet Cake to cheer on the San Francisco 49er’s in the 2013 Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the 49ers lost, but the cake was a winner! I have never had a RV Cake with Chocolate frosting because my Mom would always make it with a delicious butter cream whip frosting. The cake is a little more dense than my Mom’s recipe but I really enjoyed the taste of this and I thought it stayed moist in and out of the refrigerator. The middle filling of this cake consists of a Marshmellow Cream Cheese Frosting. It is a surprise in your mouth, definitely unexpected. I loved the Cream Cheese Frosting and RV combo so much I am adding it to the list of cakes I want to make for my Wedding this September. The Chocolate Buttercream frosting will taste great with a Yellow moist or Chocolate Espresso Cake. Here is the recipe:

Red Velvet Cake:

¾ C. Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

1 C. Light Brown Sugar

1 C. White Sugar

2 Oz. Red Food Coloring

3 Eggs (room temperature)

2 C. All Purpose Flour

¼ C. Cake Flour

1 T. Dutch Cocoa Powder

1 t. Salt

1 t. Vanilla Extract

1 ½ C. Warm Buttermilk

¼ C. Mayonnaise

1 T. Vinegar

1 ¼ t Baking Soda

Baker’s Joy

Three 8 inch round cake pans

1.     Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray Baker’s Joy around the cake pans covering all corners. Can sub shortening, flour and parchment paper rounds.

2.     In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and red food coloring on medium-high speed about 2minutes. Lower speed and add eggs one at a time, mixing each egg thoroughly.

3.     In a large bowl, sift together flours, cocoa powder and salt.

4.     Alternate adding dry mixture and buttermilk to the batter. Begin and end with dry ingredients.

5.     Fold in mayonnaise.

6.     In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda together. Quickly add to batter and fold in.

7.     Divide batter evenly into cake pans and bake approximately 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake.

8.     Let cool completely before leveling or frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

2 C. Unsalted Butter at room temperature, cut into cubes

4 C. Powdered Sugar

1 T. Vanilla Extract

2 T. Espresso or strong brewed coffee (optional)

8 oz. Quality Dark Chocolate, cut and melted and slightly cooled before adding

1.     In stand mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar together on med-low speed for 5 minutes. Add sugar slowly so it doesn’t spill outside the bowl.

2.     Add vanilla extract (and espresso if chosen). Mix on med-high 1 minute.

3.     Slowly add melted dark chocolate. Mix completely until fluffy.

Marshmellow Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ C. Powdered Sugar

½ C. Salted Butter

4 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

1 t. Vanilla Extract

8 oz Marshmallow Fluff

1.     In stand mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar together on med-low speed for 3 minutes. Add sugar slowly so it doesn’t spill outside the bowl.

2.     Add vanilla extract (and espresso if chosen). Mix on med-high 1 minute.

3.     Add cream cheese and marshmallow fluff. Mix completely until creamy.

*will need to keep this frosting chilled 

Cake in a Mason Jar

Before and After of my Cake in a Mason Jar

I love jams and jellies. I love slathering jam on a biscuit or covering toast with jelly. Of course, homemade jam is the best and I have a friend that will occasionally give me some of the jams her mom makes her as long as I return the mason jars. I was able to see her this weekend and I thought, "why return the mason jars empty when I can return them with her favorite treat of mine?" Hence, why I decided to make "Cake in a Mason Jar."The overall concept is fairly simple. The execution is the hard part. Here is what I did.

Make your favorite box mix of cake following the directions on the back. Fill mason jars 1/2 full with the cake batter and place the mason jars into a baking dish that has a small layer of water on the bottom. This water in the bottom of the pan will help even baking. Or at least that is the idea....
Next, bake the cakes in the oven at 350 degrees F for approximately 45minutes. Make sure the cake cooks all of the way through by testing it with a cake tester. When you are able to pull the cakes out of the oven, remove them from the water bath and let them cool completely. During the cooling process I made a 1/2 batch of my butter cream frosting. You can use any frosting you want.

When the cakes were cooled, I removed them from the jars and cut the cake in half. At this point I re-washed and sanitized the mason jars so that you can see the layers. Put a small dab of frosting on the very bottom to hold the cake in place. Then layer the bottom half of the cake with a dollop of frosting then add the top half with the crown  to the top. I added one more clean layer of frosting and sprinkles before putting the lid back on.

This is a quick and cute way to dress up boring old cake slices and offer individual options to friends, family or guests. It is so cute and homemade to serve a slice of cake in a Mason Jar! You will love it <3