Red Velvet Pecan Praline Pound Cake Food

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• For the Red Velvet Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round layer cake pans.
• Sift flour, baking soda and coco together. Beat sugar and eggs together in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl mix together oil, vinegar, food coloring, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of eggs and sugar and beat until combined.
• Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet mixture by alternating the buttermilk and dry ingredients. Always start with the flour and end with the flour.
• Pour batter into pans. Tap them on the table to level out the batter and release air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle comes out clean but be careful not to over bake or you'll end up with a dry cake.
• Let layers cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of pan. Cool completely before frosting.
• For the cream cheese frosting: This is the "official" cream cheese frosting recipe but we always use about 1 1/2 recipes on each cake to cover it well.
• Let margarine and cream cheese soften to room temperature. Cream well. Add sugar and beat until mixed but not so much that the frosting becomes "loose". Add vanilla and nuts. Spread between layers and on top and sides of cake.

SOUTHERN RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour three 9 by 1 1/2-inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
• Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.
• Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.
• Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the Cream Cheese Frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with the pecans.
• In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)
• Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.

RED VELVET POUND CAKE

Steps:

• CAKE: Cream sugar, shortening, vanilla, food coloring and eggs.
• Add dry ingredients and milk.
• Bake in large and floured tube pan for 1-1/2 hours at 275 degrees.
• Turn out of pan to cool.
• ICING: Cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and butter.
• Spread over cooled cake.

RED VELVET POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan., In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in food coloring and extracts (mixture may appear curdled). In another bowl, whisk flour, baking cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating after each addition just until combined., Transfer to prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 70-75 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely., For icing, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over cake; sprinkle with pecans. Store in refrigerator.

RED VELVET PECAN PRALINE POUND CAKE

Steps:

• To make Pecan Praline Powder:
• Prepare a jelly roll pan by lining with foil and buttering the bottom.
• Combine 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a heavy bottomed skillet over high heat and cook until the mixture begins to turn a light caramel color (about 8 minutes). When sugar becomes caramel colored, quickly add 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans and mix with a wooden spoon until nuts are covered with caramel.
• Take off heat and immediately pour mixture onto the buttered foil-lined jelly roll pan, spreading out the hot sugar-nut mixture. Allow it to cool. Once it cools completely, break it into pieces and pulverize in a food proccesor. Grind it a bit coarsely, so you can see nut bits, but that is a personal preference. Set aside. Makes about 2/3 cup.
• To Make Pound Cake: Preheat oven to 300 degree F.
• Grease, flour and sprinkle with finely chopped pecans (1/3 cup untoasted) a 10-inch tube pan.
• Cream together butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy. Blend in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add red food coloring and vanilla extract. In another bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
• Beat flour mixture in three parts into creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Begin and end with flour. Stir in chocolate chips and Pecan Praline Powder.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick tests clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan, then invert onto serving plate and allow to cool completely before serving. Dust with cocoa powder or confectioners sugar for a pretty presentation.

PRALINE POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter 2 (9 by 5 by 3-inch) loaf pans, using the heaping tablespoon of the butter.
• Cream the remaining butter and the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks with the vanilla until light and frothy. With the electric mixer on medium-low, gradually add the egg yolk mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix for about 4 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the electric mixer on medium speed, alternately add the flour mixture, a third at a time, and the egg whites, a third at a time, to the butter and egg mixture, beating for 2 minutes between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix. Add the lemon zest during the last 2 minutes of mixing.
• Divide the batter equally between the pans. To 1 of the cakes, add the crumbled pralines and the rum to the batter and gently stir to mix evenly; leave the other plain. Bake the plain cake for about 1 hour, the praline cake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Both should be golden when done and firm to the touch.
• The cakes can be stored by wrapping them in waxed paper, then plastic wrap, then in foil. They do not need to be refrigerated.
• In a heavy saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and condensed milk. With a wooden spoon, stir until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook, stirring, until smooth and light brown, about 8 minutes. Add the vanilla and pecans and continue to cook, stirring, until the mixture reaches 234 to 240 degrees F. on a candy thermometer or the soft ball stage, that is, when a bit dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens. Remove from the heat and drop by the spoonful onto waxed paper. Let cool. Remove from the paper with a thin knife.

RED VELVET POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Make the filling: in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
• Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Spray a 12- to 15-cup fluted pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.
• In a big bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with a mixer until fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in vinegar and vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda.
• Gradually add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
• Spoon half the batter into prepared pan.
• Top evenly with cream cheese filling.
• Spoon remaining batter over filling.
• Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1hour and 15 minutes OR until a pick comes out clean.
• Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
• Remove from pan, and cook completely on a wire rack.
• Garnish with powdered sugar, if desired.

VERY RED VELVET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING AND PECANS

Steps:

• To make the cake: Set the oven to 350°F and adjust the rack positions to the middle and top third. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans well with baking spray.
• Sift the flour with the baking soda.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs well, then beat in the sugar, oil, and vinegar. On low speed, slowly add the flour and beat in well. Add the buttermilk slowly, then the vanilla, and then the food coloring.
• Pour the batter evenly into the pans and rap them on the countertop several times to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans from shelf to shelf so they bake evenly and bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes altogether. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 15 minutes.
• Run a knife around the sides of the pans and invert the cakes onto the racks to cool completely. Once they're cool, refrigerate the cakes for 20 to 30 minutes to make icing them easier.
• To make the icing: Combine everything in a medium bowl and mix well until very smooth. It's best to use the icing right away, when it's soft and spreadable.
• Put one cake layer upside down on a cake plate or cake stand and cover the top evenly with frosting. Add a second layer, right side up, and spread with more frosting. Top with the third layer, right side up, and spread the frosting evenly around the sides of the cake and on top; check for any places where you can see through to the cake. Finally, sprinkle the pecans evenly all over the top of the cake.
• Once the frosting sets, cut into slices to serve. This cake keeps for up to 2 weeks in a cake keeper, but once it's ready, people want to dive right in.

PECAN POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Cream margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Sift flour three times.
• Add flour and flavorings to sugar mixture, beating constantly.
• Fold nuts into batter.
• Pour into greased and floured tube pan or a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, or until cake tests done.
• Remove from pan to cool.