Southern Red Velvet Birthday Cake

We have this long standing tradition of going out to eat and making dinners for birthdays. It might sound a little ridiculous to have three people make dinner for you but we are from the south and food is how we show our love.

Rey’s birthday has been no different. We started last Sunday with biscuits and gravy at my mamas house. We went out on Thursday to Watami for Rey’s favorite, Sushi. We actually ended up doing another night out at Lucky Slice with Sylvia (Rey’s mom). I cooked homemade pasta with meatballs and Italian Sausage.

I asked Rey what kind of birthday cake he wanted and he answered “Red Velvet.” Seriously? The messiest cake to make?? So I googled Red Velvet and came up with this:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/southern-red-velvet-cake-recipe.html

I loved the video since I needed to watch the video for a couple of things left out of the recipe. Like I needed three cake pans, you have to sift the ingredients twice, the last time with the sugar, and starting with the buttermilk.

Anyway, making the cake was pretty easy after I found the sugar (long story), and I only changed one thing in the recipe (applesauce for oil). Once it was cooked I pulled it out and let it cool as I ran some errands.

When we returned I finished up the meatballs and threw them in the sauce to cook. Then I started on the tedious job of icing the cake… Icing cakes is my weakness… They always get all crumby. Anyway, I have a lazy susan and I used the bottom of my cheesecake pan to put the cake on and then I placed it on the lazy susan and went to town.

It actually turned out quite nice even though the cakes were very uneven. I chose not to trim them and just filled in with frosting. I didn’t have a lot of pecans so I just crushed what I had and threw them on top.

When we cut into it, the cake was quite spongy. I’m guessing because I substituted the apple sauce. But it was surprisingly light, not overly heavy and rich. The spongy texture made it easier to eat. It was quite delicious according to my family (of course they have to say that, right?!).

If you make the cake with oil let me know how the texture turns out.

Oh and my homemade pasta sauce is made by sauteing shallots and garlic in a little olive oil and then adding crushed tomatoes. I like to use the Pompeii tomatoes from Italy, they come in a box. I also threw in a couple cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes (after I blitzed them in the food processor) and some roasted red peppers. In the summer I use all these ingredients from the garden but seeing as we are in the middle of winter… After all that I just added a little sauce to taste. Easy Peasy.

Bon Appetite!

Jes!