Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 For Valentine's Day, my mommy asked me to bake a cake for her to take to work. I could have gone with chocolate but, come on, who doesn't LOVE red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting? It's so moist and decadent, it's one of my absolute favorites!!! I make the cream cheese frosting from scratch because the canned stuff tastes just too processed and icky. But I'll be honest and tell you that I went the Duncan Hines route for the actual cake (it's too perfect to even try and emulate). And, being the culinary family that we are, mommy pulled out the heart shaped cake pans to make it extra special and Valentine's Day-ish

What you'll need for the frosting:
2 8oz packets of cream cheese (AT ROOM TEMPERATURE!!!)
1 stick of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2-3 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1. Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature (your best bet is to leave them all on the counter overnight. This will ensure that they will blend easily and there won't be any lumps).
2. Using a hand mixer and a LARGE bowl (you do NOT want to wear the sugar!) cream together the butter and the cream cheese.

3. Add the vanilla and keep mixing.
4. Slowly add the powered sugar, little bits at a time.
5. You'll definitely need to take to make sure it tastes like the perfect combination of the cream cheese and the powdered sugar.

Tips for frosting a cake:
1. Let the cakes cool in their pants for AT LEAST an hour (you do NOT want to ruin them. And if they're still warm, the frosting will not sit right).
2. Line your platter with 3 sheets of parchment or wax paper. They will protect the plate from getting frosting all over it so it'll stay pretty for presentation.

3. Put 3 dollops of the frosting on the cakes (this will ensure even spreading and as little bits of red cake getting into the frosting as possible).

4. Start from the middle and work your way out using a frosting spatula (any store that sells cooking utensils will have one).

5. Add the next layer of cake, and, if it's your last layer, repeat steps 3 and 4 then work down the sides and around the bottom.

6. Let the cake sit in the fridge overnight, then slowly pull off the wax paper (you may need to just cut around it).

enjoy :)