Red Velvet Cake Pioneer Woman Style

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1 ounce red food coloring
1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:
1 1/2 8 oz. packages cream cheese (room temperature)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


Blend together shortening and sugar in a big mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Mix the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, and vinegar in another bowl. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the shortening and sugar mixture, mixing after each addition. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and food coloring. Pour into the mixing bowl and combine...don't overbeat. Pour the batter into a 9x13 pan and cook for 45 minutes or until done at 350 degrees. While cake is cooking, mix together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Icing will be thick. When cake is out of oven, let cool for 20 minutes and then ice.

YUM! :)

Charlie Bear LOVES the icing, too! :) He always loves to lick the bowl.

Hannah and Rosy LOVED the cake!!! It was SO good!!! I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman cookbook. It is the most fun cookbook I've ever seen!! There are step by step pictures of everything, which makes it so much easier for me!!! :) She is also really funny! I put the directions on here a little different than she put them in her cookbook because I didn't do exactly what she did. For example, I didn't sift the flour because I don't have a sifter.  I also baked the cake in a 9x13 pan while she did hers in 2 nine inch pans. I like cakes better in 9x13 pans because there are not as many edge pieces and there is more icing. :) I'm bringing this cake to my NLR Bible study tonight because I definitely don't need this cake sitting around my house! I have lost 7 pounds and I want to keep it off!!!  We're going to the beach soon!!