Simply Sweet Chocolate Red Velvet Cake w/ Vanilla Frosting

We hope you enjoy making this red velvet cake. It's easy to do, and will bring a festive appearance to your dinner table as well as satisfy that hankering for chocolate you've been having all week!

Cake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

Icing Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 pound real butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cake:

Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs. Make paste of cocoa and food coloring, add to creamed mixture and mix well. Add salt and vanilla to buttermilk. Alternately add buttermilk and flour into shortening mixture, mixing well. Mix baking soda to vinegar and fold gently into batter. DO NOT BEAT! Makes 3 layers.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.

Directions for Icing:

Mix the flour and milk together in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil until thick (keep stirring). Cool COMPLETELY!!!! (in fact in works the best to chill it) Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Add flour mixture and beat until thick enough to spread.

Decorative Site Note (optional):

Try melting between 1-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, pouring the melted chocolate in a plastic bag, and squeezing out small heart shapes onto waxed paper through a pin-shaped hole in the bag. When they're chilled, top them onto the icing of the cake for an even more festive look!