The recipe I use for :

Red velvet cake

1 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together over parchment. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack. Invert the cakes from the pans.

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I certainly did! Thanks for that Chrissy.

A couple of questions: I don't think I can get buttermilk - is there anything I can add to regular full cream milk to make it more like "buttermilk" do you think? cream? (I've never seen/tasted buttermilk so not sure).

Also; vegetable shortening - can I subsitute with butter or even margarine?

And finally I think "cake flour" must be what we call "Self Raising Flour" (as apposed to Plain Flour which doesn't rise!) do you think?

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the vegtable shortning is like crisco or lard. I guess you could use margerine if you wanted but not butter, it's not firm or oily enough. Cake flour=self rising flour, and a heavy cream in place of buttermilk would be fine. Check in the bakers isle at the grocer though. Here buttermilk comes in a can just like soup! Also sometimes reffered to as sweetened condensed milk. Hope that helps!

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ah, yes we have sweetened condensed milk! Not sure about lard (I remember what it is from when I was in England, but not sure if I can buy it here). Thanks for your help. I plan to try out this recipe next time a birthday cake is needed!

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