Red Cake with Ermine Frosting

I come from a southern family and Red Cake has often been our holiday cake of choice. There are two camps on the frosting - cream cheese and ermine. I like both, but Red Cake is very dense so adding a heavy cream cheese frosting can be a little over-the-top. Our family's traditional frosting is ermine, which is very light and delicate in flavor. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Red Cake (Waldorf Astoria)

Ingredients:

1 C shortening
2 eggs
1 ½ C sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
1 t. vinegar
2 oz. red food coloring (two 1 oz. bottles)
2 t. cocoa
1 C buttermilk
1 t. baking soda
2 ½ C flour

Mix vinegar & baking soda, set aside. Mix cocoa & food coloring, set aside. Cream shortening and sugar, then add eggs, beat. Add buttermilk, beat. Add flour and salt, mix well. Then add food coloring mixture, beat. Then add vinegar mixture, beat well. Bake in 2 or 3 - 9” cake pans for 30 min at 350 degrees. When cake is completely cool, frost with:

Ermine Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 C milk
3 T. flour – cook until thickened in a double boiler. Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours.

Cream well 1 C sugar and 2 sticks of margarine and 1 T vanilla. (It should be VERY fluffy and the sugar should be totally dissolved, about 6 minutes.) Add the cold paste, a few tablespoons at a time to the butter mixture and whip until light and fluffy.

Frost cake and chill.

Recipe Given By: Mom Underhill

For a great Ermine Frosting tutorial, click here.

I tried to cheat on the frosting and mix it while it was still warm. You can see it doesn't mix properly. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to the women in my family and I vow not to rush ever again. :) The taste is NOT effected, but it's not as pretty. When I make it again (fluffy frosting, fingers crossed), I will repost with the picture. Until then, maybe you might want to give it a try...4th of July?

UPDATE: I remade the cake for Mark's birthday this month and made a double batch of the frosting (the slow and patient way) and it turned out fluffy and beautiful. I vow not to rush again. :)