RED VELVET CAKE

Let them eat cake

I’ve never done anything conventionally. Meeting my husband and our courtship was no different. From the time we met in October 1999, until we married in October 2000, we saw each other a handful of times and I spent a lot of time on the road. Our relationship grew and developed while we learned about one another on the road.

Back in those days, LRB’s lineup was comprised of musicians who lived in Australia and Ireland. Wayne was the only member who lived stateside. They toured much differently then than they do now. In those years, the tour roughly started in May and would go through August. Because of the logistics of getting the international folks back and forth, it was too expensive and disruptive to send everyone home during the tour. So when the bus rolled, it didn’t come back for two to three months.

The year 2000 was no different and the tour began in May in Tunica, Mississippi. By this time, we had only seen each other three times since our initial introduction. In my way of thinking, the fact that the tour started in Tunica and that they would be there for a week prior for rehearsals, was just one of the many positive signs that we were meant to be together. I drove from Nashville to Tunica and stayed the whole week with him.

During the week in Tunica, we played basketball together, took walks and ate at the buffets. If you know anything about Tunica, you know that it’s one casino after another and there’s a never-ending supply of buffets. It was at one of those casino buffets during that week in Tunica, I introduced Wayne to Red Velvet Cake. My mom always made this cake at Christmas time and it is one of my favorites to this day.

Wayne, on the other hand, had never heard of it. Not surprising, though. He was a Southern California resident and had been for over 20 years. Red Velvet Cake is considered a Southern dessert. I scanned the pieces of cake in the dessert section of the buffet and made sure to choose one that looked moist. I had little hope that it would even come close to tasting like my beloved homemade version. I took a bite of the cake and was most pleasantly surprised. Not like Mom’s but it was a pretty good slice of cake and won Wayne over. I’m fairly certain we had Red Velvet Cake every day after that while we were there.

RED VELVET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (FROM MOM)

½ cup butter softened, room temperature
½ cup shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs room temperature
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
4 Tbsp powdered cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 3 8-inch round cake pans or 2 9-inch cake pans. Cream butter, shortening, and granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Gradually add flour mixture, in little batches, to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.

Once all of the flour mixture and buttermilk have been combined well with the butter mixture, add vanilla and red food coloring. Pour mixture into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until wooden pick comes clean from center.

Remove from oven, allow to cool on wire racks.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1(8oz) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
1 (1 lb) box of confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Blend the cream cheese and butter together and gradually add the sugar. Stir in the vanilla until light and fluffy. Frost between the cake layers, on sides and top.