This is far and away my favorite homemade cake recipe.  Rich, chocolaty red-velvet cake just can’t be beat.  A lot of people (including me, a few years ago) are intimidated by the thought of making a from-scratch Red Velvet cake, but as long as you follow the very simple instructions to a T, it is actually a very easy thing to make.

One of the things that makes these rich, decadent cupcakes wonderful is the frosting.  Instead of a traditional cream cheese frosting, I top them with Ermine Icing- a light, fluffy vanilla frosting that tastes EXACTLY like homemade whipped cream.

The frosting ingredients and directions will sound strange to you– but if you follow the instructions and just go with it, it will turn out perfectly.

As you can see from the recipe, it is for a cake.  I made this cake into cupcakes, and I baked them for 20 minutes.

Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day!  Enjoy. 🙂

Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 tablespoons cocoa
* 4 tablespoons red food coloring (I used two– if you use four, you will get an even deeper red color)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Frosting Ingredients:
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup white sugar (yes, that is GRANULATED sugar)
* 1 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Grease two 9 inch round pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Cream shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar WELL. Add eggs and beat well.

3. Make a paste of cocoa and red food coloring. Add to creamed mixture. Mix salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla and buttermilk together. Add alternately the flour with the milk mixture to the creamed mixture. Mix soda and vinegar and FOLD INTO CAKE BATTER. DON’T BEAT OR STIR NOW.

4. Bake for 30 minutes.

5. To Make Icing: Cook 5 Tablespoons flour and milk over low heat till thick (spoon should leave a trail when dragged thru), stirring constantly. LET COOL THOROUGHLY! While cooling, cream 1 cups sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat this well till light and fluffy. Add to flour mixture and beat until of a good spreading consistency. DON’T ICE CAKE TILL COOL.