A RED Cake with Butter Cream Frosting for Week #9 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

Sometimes it is fun to have a special cake for the Christmas season.  Yes, cookies are important and so are bars and candy but a good and GORGEOUSLY d'lish cake is just as important (...to me at least!).  So today in honor of the 9th Week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies I will share with you such a cake.  I call it Raspberry RED Velvet Cake with (luscious) Butter Cream Frosting - divine, simply divine.  I made this cake for my precious sister (love and treasure her SO much is hurts!).  Here she is blowing out her candles on her cake (with the help of some little adorable friends)...

This cake's creation actually came from my sister's head...yup, it was her suggestion that I add raspberries to the batter of a RED VELVET Cake and frost it with Butter Cream Frosting.  Brilliant!

Raspberry Red Velvet Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

(cake recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman and frosting recipe from Hoosier Homemade)

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1 oz  RED food coloring (use 2 oz. if you wish to have a darker RED color to your cake...which is what I did)

1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder

1 heaping cup of frozen (or fresh)  raspberries

1 Tbsp flour

1/4  cup raspberry preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray 2 round 9" cake pans with non-stick baking spray.

2. Blend together the shortening and sugar in a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer until well blended together and fluffy.  Set bowl aside.

3. Sift together flour and salt...

....and then set aside.

4. Mix eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, baking soda and vinegar all together in a medium bowl.

5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the egg/buttermilk mixture to the fluffy shortening/sugar mixture.  Please mix after each addition.

6. In a small bowl combine cocoa powder and red food coloring....

  Stir together and then add to batter in mixing bowl...

  Mix all together just until well combined - do not over beat.

7. In a small bowl gently toss 1 Tbsp of flour into raspberries....

  Gently fold raspberries into cake batter....

8.  Pour batter into prepared cake pans....

 and bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool cakes for 20 minutes before removing from pans.  Cool completely before frosting.

9. Make frosting...I used this lovely recipe here.  Place 1st layer of cake on desired cake stand/plate and then frost and spread with of raspberry jam leaving about a 1" surrounding  border so that the jam doesn't spill out onto the side of the cake....

 and then place 2nd cake on top....

  and continue to frost the rest of the cake. Decorate as you please.  I found some lovely berries at the store that I placed ontop and around the cake...yum!

(So sad that the above pic didn't come out as vibrant as it should've of...hopefully you get the idea of what a gorgeous cake this recipe creates!)

Here is a peak inside the cake....

....and an other peek....

A lovely cake to make for the holidays, special birthday or "just because". 

Happy Raspberry RED Velvet Cake with Butter Cream Frosting Baking!

Week 9 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: