Here I am with my trainer do intense agility training and all I can think about is my next fix - boxing the next day. Not the frilly, girly, cheerleader type "boxing" that are found in aerobics studios all across the country - I'm talking full on, want to drop to the ground, smelly gloves - boxing. Sweat is literally FLYING off me to the point where I was like a broken fire hydrant (attractive huh?) and I'm thinking about what I'm going to go home and bake. Something is wrong here. And then it hit me, I'm a fitness junkie because I'm a food junkie.
Must. Eat.
Must.Run/yoga/box/workout.
I can't get enough of either it seems, but they balance each other out.
The gym is full of meatheads. Those guys with their cut off t-shirts, super gelled hair, and grunts that would scare away an angry boar. Then you have your sorority girls. I also realized yesterday, that any time you see a young, thin, TAN girl with the look of promise in her eyes - she must be a sorority girl. Sigh - oh the days. Nothing to worry about but who's dress I was going to borrow - all the time in the world to workout to counterbalance all the drinking that would go on for the next 3 days (ok four). The life.
Flash-forward 5 years later - and looking at a recipe adds a LB to my hips. Ok I'm slightly exaggerating, but you get the point. So I sprinted a little faster, and I high kneed my way to those extra calories in anticipation for what I'd be making when I got home.
So here it is - a red velvet bundt cake. Let me start by saying - the frosting is a stick of butter and a stick of cream cheese. Do I have your attention? Do you see why I run?
My sister in law described red velvet cake perfectly. Is it chocolate? Is it just chocolate with red food coloring? What's the appeal, what's the difference between a chocolate cake and red velvet? "I just doesn't do much for me" - she's so right - what's its deal anyways? Until you've had a good one, you'd never really know. And after my due diligence, I figured it out - its slightly chocolate, but mostly red - but the caveat is that MOST recipes only call for a few tablespoons of coco powder and I've seen ones that barely call for that. I decided to add a little extra to a recipe I found to give it some more chocolate flavor.
Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - adapted from Bird on a Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 c. milk + 1 T. vinegar
- 1 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease Bundt pan really well with spray, ensuring all sides and middle cone are well greased. Grease ONE cupcake section, this will be used to decorate the top of the cake. In a medium bowl, mix eggs with a wire whisk. Add oil, vinegar, vanilla, buttermilk and food coloring. Whisk together and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the wet ingredients and mix on medium high until combined, batter will be fairly thick. Fill cupcake tin 3/4 full with batter, then pour the rest of the batter into your Bundt pan. Bake the cupcake for 20-25 minutes, bake the cake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine cream cheese and butter until blended. Add vanilla. Gradually add confectioners sugar. If the frosting seems too stiff, add 1 TBSP of half and half. Frost evenly on cooled cake.
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