I was discussing what constitutes “American food” with a friend recently and we were trying to come up with some foods that are truly American.  This is harder to do than you would think given that the United States is such a melting pot of culture and food.  So many foods that we Americans think of as “American food”, actually originated somewhere else and were brought here through immigration.  Red velvet cake though is one food that is truly American.  This cake is often considered a classic Southern American dessert.  The following video gives direction on how to make this American dessert and at the end of the video there is a brief discussion of the history of this cake.  I’ve included here the recipe from the video and I have written out the steps that are described in the video so you can test your listening skills.  You can read the written directions if you don’t understand anything in the video.  Enjoy!  This is one of my favorite desserts.

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted*
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
2 sticks unsalted butter (divided for cake batter and frosting)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (divided for cake batter and frosting)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2x 16 once cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour the cake pans.

Step 2
Combine shifted flour and salt in a bowl.

Step 3
Put the cocoa powder into a small bowl, and the red food coloring, and whisk it until smooth.

Step 4
In a large bowl beat one stick of butter and sugar by hand or with a mixer until fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Step 5
Switch your speed to low and add the flour a few tablespoons at a time.  Alternate mixing flour with adding the buttermilk, one teaspoon of vanilla, and died cocoa paste.  Mix the ingredients until all the batter is all the same red color, but do not over beat.

Step 6
In a small bowl stir the baking soda into the vinegar and then fold it into the batter with a wooden spoon.

Step 7
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then invert the layers onto a rack to cool completely.

Step 8
Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese with one stick of butter until creamy.  Beat in two teaspoons of vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Step 9
When the cake is cool, place the first layer on your cake plate or stand.  Spread frosting on top with a spatula, add the next layer, frost the top of that, and so on.  Once you’ve added the final cake layer, spread a thin coat of frosting over the entire cake to contain crumbs.  Then refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Step 10
Finish frosting the cake by spreading the frosting on top and on the sides.  Decorate the top with pecan halves if you like.