Red Velvet Pound Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I having a get-together on Friday. It's what my friends and I call a brown bag lunch and it makes life very easy for the hostess who need supply only drinks and dessert for the occasion. With that in mind, I've been experimenting with some cakes, and by trial and error, I've come up with the two I want to serve. One is a hot milk sponge cake and the other is a red velvet sheet cake. The lovely cake I'm featuring tonight did not make the final cut, but it is so good that I wanted to share it with those of you who are fond of red velvet cake. It's made using an easy recipe from The New York Times. The cake has a lovely crumb and will stay moist for several days after it has been baked. I finish it with a dusting of confectioners' sugar, but it can be frosted if that is more to your liking. Here is how it is made.

Red Velvet Pound Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of The New York Times

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter + 2 tablespoons, room temperature, divided use
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided use
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup whole buttermilk
1 tablespoon vinegar
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 (9 x 5 x 3-inch) loaf pans by buttering lightly with 2 tablespoons butter. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper, then sprinkle pans with 1 tablespoon sifted cocoa powder, tapping to coat and discarding extra cocoa.
2) Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time and beat until each is incorporated. Mix in vanilla.
3) In a separate bowl, make a paste of the remaining 2 tablespoons cocoa and the food coloring. Blend into butter mixture.
4) Sift together remaining dry ingredients. Alternating in 2 batches each, add dry ingredients and buttermilk to butter mixture. In the last batch of buttermilk, mix in the vinegar before adding to batter. Mix until blended.
5) Divide batter among 2 pans and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake just comes out clean.
6) Remove cake from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Run a spatula or knife around inside of pan and then remove cake from the pan, peel off parchment paper, re-invert, and cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 2 cakes (16 servings).

                    

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