RED VELVET CAKE

CAKE:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 – 2 oz. red food coloring (2 – 4 tablespoons)

½ cup hot coffee

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

FROSTING:

1  1/2 blocks of cream cheese, softened (totaling 12 oz., or 1  1/2 cups)

3/4 cup softened butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups confectioners’ sugar (more or less, depending on how you prefer the consistency)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325° and grease two 9″ cake pans; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a separate large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.

 Beat in eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until well combined.

 Stir in the hot coffee and vinegar.

Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients (in about four additions of mixing dry into wet, scraping bowl between each addition), mixing until just combined.

Pour the batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out mostly clean of crumbs.

 Be careful not to over bake!  Allow pans to cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then remove cake from pans and finish cooling on the rack.

FROSTING: In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, butter and vanilla well.  

Add confectioners’ sugar, one cup at a time, beating until smooth (scraping sides of bowl after each addition of sugar); add sugar until you have reached your desired consistency*. 

Frost the cake when the cakes have cooled completely.

CHOCOLATEY CAKE TART

INGREDIENTS

3 cups flour

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter (very cold & diced)

1/3 cup vegetable shortening (very cold & diced)

7-8 tablespoons ice water

CAKE:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules (or 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini or regular chocolate chips- optional

TOPPING:

1 cup whipping/heavy cream

3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoons chocolate sauce (for drizzling)

DIRECTIONS

PASTRY CRUSTS: 
Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor until mixed.

Add butter & shortening and pulse until mixture resembles shape of peas (approx 10 pulses).

Drizzle ice water into feed tube of running processor, and then pulse until dough starts to form into a ball.

Place dough onto a floured surface, shape into two equally sized balls, and refrigerate (in separate plastic wrapped packages) for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Roll each dough ball out on a well-floured surface, into approximately 12” circles

 Using a floured biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles that will fit over the individual muffin cups (using the BOTTOM side of your muffin tin… so turn your muffin tin over, and drape the pastry rounds over the muffin cups, rather than fitting them into the cups in the right-side-up tin).

Bake for about 13 – 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

CAKE:Preheat oven to 350° and spray two 8″ cake pans with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients (flour through salt) together.

In a measuring cup, stir hot water with oil, vinegar, instant coffee/espresso and vanilla together.

 Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

 Stir in chocolate chips if using.

Pour batter into pans and bake for 30 – 35 minutes (until cake tester/wooden skewer comes out clean).  

Cool cakes on a rack for 15 minutes then remove cakes from pans to finish cooling.  
Using a serrated knife (like a long bread knife), slice cakes into small chunks (either 1″ or smaller if you prefer) and fill into cooled pastry cups.

TOPPING:

In a large bowl, beat whipping cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

 Dollop as much as you’d like over tops of cake-filled tarts and drizzle with chocolate sauce but you can use whatever you prefer or just melt semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave until smooth… just know it will dry crunchy whereas chocolate sauce stays a bit soft).