Red Velvet Sponge Cake

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups (400 g) plain cake flour.
• 2 tbsp (10 g) cocoa powder , unsweetened
• 1 tsp (5 g) baking soda / bi-carb soda , NOT baking powder.
• Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter , softened (1 US stick)
• 1 1/2 cups (330 g) caster / superfine white sugar.
• 2 eggs , at room temperature (around 2 oz / 60g each)
• 1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)
• 1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk , at room temperature.
• 2 1/2 tbsp red food colouring liquid (UK: use Gel)

Frosting

• 14 oz (400 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, block , softened but not too soft (UK see Note 9)
• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter , softened (but not too soft)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups (450 g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar sifted.

Instruction

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F (all oven types). Butter 2 x 21cm / 8″ round cake pans (sides and base) and dust with cocoa powder.
2. Sift the Dry Ingredients and whisk to combine in a bowl.
3. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beater or in stand mixer until smooth and well combined (use paddle attachment if using stand mixer).
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between to combine. At first it will look curdle – keep beating until it’s smooth.
5. Add vegetable oil, vinegar, vanilla, buttermilk and red food colouring. Beat until combined and smooth.
6. Add Dry Ingredients. Beat until just combined – some small lumps is ok, that’s better than over mixing.
7. Divide batter between cake pans. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes on the same shelf, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
8. Rest for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool.

Frosting

1. Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla for 3 minutes (this makes it really smooth and changes from yellow to almost white). Add icing sugar and beat for 2 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy to your taste. If your frosting seems too runny (depends on quality of cream cheese/ if the cream cheese was too soft), just add more icing sugar.

Frost Cake

1. Cut the top off the cake using a serrated knife (to make the layers neat).
2. Spread one cake with 1 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with the other cake. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting.
3. Optional: Crumble offcuts and use to decorate the top rim and base of the cake.