Though I can't give you her cake, I can offer a great substitute. A red vevlet cake is a chocolate cake that has either had vinegar added to the recipe, which reacts with the cocoa to make it red, or has red food coloring added. I have a chocolate mayonaise recipe that makes a truly wonderful cake. Add red food coloring to it and you would have a very moist and flavorful red velvet cake. But to give you something special, I would sugest that it be made in a stainless steel bowl, greased and floured, to make a dome shaped cake when inverted. Bake it at a higher than normal temperature and remove from the oven before the cake is cooked through. The effect is an outer cake crust, an inch or two deep, with an unbaked, but hot filling that flows our when the cake is cue, in short, a volcano cake. I choose the choclolate mayonaise cake as it has no raw egg in the recipe, and so is safe to eat undercooked. The result is pretty dramtic, and tasty. This cake can have, but doesn't need a frosting.
Here's the recipe for the cake;
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Sift together:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons dark cocoa (make sue it isn't dutched chocolate or it won't rise properly)
Blend together and add to above
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water
Red food coloring to the desired depth of color
Preheat the oven to 425' F.
Whisk together the two sets of ingrediants to make smooth batter. Pour the batter into a greased and floured suitably sized stainless steel mixing bowl. Lightly tap the bowl to level the batter and elliminate any air pockets.
Bake for 2o to 25 minutes, so that a layer of cake is formed, but the center is still a batter consistancy. Check this by inserting a clean butter knife half way through the cake, and observing how deep the cooked cake layer is compared to the coated part of the knife (the cooked part will leave no cake on the knife).
Remove the cake when done, and invert onto a suitable dish. Let cool completely before covering with frosting/icing.
Superior Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
3 cups Powdered Sugar
½ cup sweet-cream, unsalted Butter
16 oz. Cream Cheese
Melt butter. Add the cream cheese and stir with wire whisk, or beat with electric beater until well combined and smooth.
Make a simple syrup of the powdered sugar and ¾ cup of water. Heat until the sugar is completely dissoved. By making a syrup, the frosting will be silky smooth, with absolutely no graininess.
Again turn on the mixer and slowly drizzle the syrup into the butter, cream cheese mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
This frosting is easily spread at room temperature. Its rich taste compliments spice, choclate, and carrot cakes, and can be used to fill puff pastry, bismarks, or Danish pastry. Personally, I like it chilled on whatever it’s put on. The texture is great either way. Enjoy.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North