So, it was my b’day last Friday. Another year older (cant help it) and wiser (I dont think so, but let’s pretend that’s the case). Tell me something… when you were growing up, did you take any major decisions on how to and how not to behave based on how the grownups around you were behaving. Like, if and when I get married, I’ll be an “ABC” type of spouse, instead of a “XYZ” type, those kinda things, got it?
Anyways, among many other decisions, one such decision of mine was to always be graceful and not to worry about the increasing numerical value of my age. Back then, I was more like… age is just a number and it doesn’t matter. Looks like in my case age and wisdom is inversely proportional!
Ok, that part hasn’t changed, I still believe age is just a number and so on, but my only concern is just saying it out loud. It’s all good in my head, but the moment I say it out loud, wait a min… I’m not able to say it loud, that’s the problem. I suddenly feel tongue tied or words desert me when I’ve to say it and when I recover from that state, I’d start tip toeing around the subject, see definitely not wiser. But since I don’t like to challenge age old saying and beliefs and also for your sake and my sake, let’s just say that I became wiser by a pinch.
Wiser or not, I did bake a b’day cake for myself for a change. Usually, I don’t bake cake for my b’day and also it’s not a big deal, we both just go out for dinner some place nice and that’s it. Since this time, it fell on a weekend, our friends came over for lunch and we had a great time. About the cake, it wasn’t anything fancy in looks, but taste wise, it was a “killer” cake. Well that’s the exact word our friends used to describe the cake. If you go through the ingredient list, you’ll know why. It’s just one of those recipes, where the ingredients do the majority of the work and you just need to facilitate it. I had a Red Velvet cake mix with me and was looking for an occasion to bake it. How I ended up with a box cake is a different story all together, but that led to this cake, so I’m happy.
Sadly, my cake pictures didnt turn out that well, but I’m going to share it with you anyway. Apart from this cake being sinful, the qty is big enough to feed a crowd. So it will be a while, before I bake this again and I didnt want you to miss this super dessert recipe. If you are planning a get together or a potluck party, this is a must try, trust me.
Recipe adapted from here
- For the Cake:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk (refer notes for substitute)
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 (12-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- For the Frosting:
- 8 ounces (224 gms) butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (224 gms) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4¼ cups powdered sugar (refer notes)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the eggs. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth, about 1 minutes.
- Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another 2 minutes until completely combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top into an even layer with a spatula. Bake until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately poke holes all over the top of the cake. You can use the end of a wooden spoon, a skewer, the tines of a fork, etc. Slowly pour the can of condensed milk all over the top of the cake, making sure to drizzle it evenly all over the top. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
- Make the Frosting:
- Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cake and decorate as desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
1 cup buttermilk = 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar + enough milk to make 1 cup. Let stand for 5 minutes
I had some left over cake batter and made 3 std size cupcakes with them. So if you want you can try this as cupcake as well, but making it as a single cake is easier and less messier.
I used Philadelphia Full Fat cream cheese spread for icing, I used butter at room temp and cold cheese to make icing. Also I used only 2.5 cups of icing sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla essence.
You can make the cake 2 days ahead and cover it with cling film and refrigerate. Though the cake is pretty moist straight out of the fridge, I kept it at room temp for 20-25 mins, before serving.