I'm nota fan of red velvet cake, I swear I can taste all that food coloring!
How about a strawberry cake instead?...I know jell-o and a cake mix...but it's really pretty good and very pink!

Strawberry Cake
1 package (2-layer size) white cake mix
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 package frozen strawberries, thawed, divided
1 pound confectioners' sugar, about 3 3/4 cup
1/2 cup softened butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, flour, eggs, oil, water, gelatin, and about 3/4 of the thawed strawberries. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch layer cake pans or 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove layers to rack to cool completely. 9x13x2-inch cake may be left in pan for frosting and serving.
In a medium bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, butter, and remaining strawberries until smooth and creamy (leave some of the excess strawberry juice out and add back a little at a time, so frosting isn't too thin). Frost cooled cake; store in refrigerator.
Linda C

Linda I had forgotten about those jello cakes!!! I made several of those years ago when they were all the rage. I never put actual fruit in them though. Thanks for the recipe but I really wanna try the Red Velvet!
Joann

Lots of people around here don't like it, but I love it. My aunt always made it when I was a kid...I could eat the frosting by the spoonful, and the cake is nice and moist.

I will type it up for you right now.

Stacy

Here's Marilyn's recipe. I haven't made it, but I'd trust anything she posted!

Most people use cream cheese frosting on Red Velvet but I like this lighter frosting.

Red Velvet Cake

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 ounces liquid red food coloring (2 bottles)
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 recipe White and Fluffy Frosting

Preheat oven to 350°. Greased two 9-inch cake pans. In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter, shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl mix together cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in three additions. Add the vanilla then fold in the soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into cake pans and bake for 30 minutes or until cake test done using wooden pick. Let cool on racks. Remove from pans after 20 minutes. Cool completely, frost and serve.
**Does not work with paste food coloring.

White and Fluffy Frosting

1 cup milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Crisco shortening (white)
1 cup fine grain granulated sugar

Combine milk and flour; cook over medium heat until boils and thickens. Cool completely and stir in vanilla. With an electric mixer; beat shortening and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in cooled milk mixture until light and fluffy. Good on any kind of cake or fill cupcakes.

**For a creamier texture use confectioners (powdered) sugar in place of granulated.

Marilyn

Mine's similar, it's definitely T and T. I grew up on it and have made it myself several times - now I want some!

Red Velvet Cake

Grease and flour 2 8" layer pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cocoa
1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar

½ Cup butter
1 ½ Cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz. red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, coloring, and vanilla.
To this add dry ingredients (flour, cocoa and salt) alternately with buttermilk.

Add baking soda and vinegar. Fold them into the mixture with a fork, gently but thoroughly.

Bake 2 8" layers for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frosting:

Cook following until thick, stirring constantly:

1 Cup milk
3 tbsp flour

Cool and set aside.

Cream together:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter

Beat until fluffy and add 1 tsp vanilla.

Combine with the milk/flour mixture and beat 10 minutes ( it may appear to curdle).

This makes lots of frosting.

Thanks for all the recipes! Now I can't wait to try it!
Joann

Tracey, thank you! So sweet of you.
Ghoghunter, the recipe Tracey posted is really good. I have made a half recipe for Valentines Day and baked it in a heart shaped pan.

Marilyn

lindac - You probably can taste the red food coloring. I can, and it is bitter. I never liked "red" things very much, but in my adult life have developed a serious allergy to it. My husband is not allergic to it but says it makes his lips feel strange when he eats food with Red 40. More and more people seem to be allergic to Red Dye, especially children.

I've never made it because of the large amount of food coloring. I went looking for an alternative:

Red Devil's Food Cake Made With Beets

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 8 1/4 ounce can beets
2 1/4 cups allpurpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. cider vinegar

Frosting:
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
6 large egg whites
1/4 cup cold water
2 tbs. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Butter and flour two 9 by 2 inch cake
pans.
Melt chocolate in double boiler and set aside to cool. Drain beets and
puree in a blender or food processor; you should have 1 cup. Sift
together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla
until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate. With mixer
on low alternately beat in flour mixture (in fourths) and buttermilk
mixed with vinegar (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour. Beat
until incorporated. Add pureed beets and mix on medium until blended.
Divide the batter between the pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until
cake tester inserted in center comes out clean and top of cake springs
back when lightly pressed. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10
minutes and invert onto racks to cool completely.

Make frosting: In a bowl set over a large saucepan of simmering water
beat sugar, cream of tartar, salt, egg whites and water with mixer for
5 to 7 minutes, or until mixture holds stiff peaks. Remove bowl from pan
and beat icing for 3 minutes more. Beat in vanilla.

To assemble cake: On serving plate spread one cake layer with a third of
frosting and top with second layer. Spread remaining frosting over top
and sides.

Yield: 9 inch Layer Cake, 8 to 10 servings

_________________________________________________________

Unique Red Velvet Cake

Beet juice is the secret ingredient that substitutes for red food color in this traditional Southern specialty cake. Some people prefer a boiled white frosting, but I cannot imagine this cake without cream cheese frosting. Make this cake when you want to dazzle people -- or when you want superb taste. This is the kind of cake to take to a party.

CAKE
4-1/2 C cake flour, sifted
1-1/2 t salt
4 T Cocoa
4 oz. beet juice (drain from one 15 oz. can of beets - add water to make 4 oz., if needed)
1 C vegetable shortening
2-3/4 C sugar
4 large eggs
2 C buttermilk
1-1/2 T vanilla extract
2 T white vinegar
2 t baking soda

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Remember to use glass and metal utensils to avoid beet-juice stains.

Add salt and cocoa to sifted flour and sift again. With mixer on medium, cream together vegetable shortening and sugar for at least five minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating at least one minute after each addition.

Add beet juice and vanilla to buttermilk. Alternate adding these liquids and the flour-salt-cocoa mixture to the shortening/sugar. Use a spatula or put your mixer on low -- don't overbeat.

Put white vinegar in a small bowl and add baking SODA (not powder). It will foam up briefly. Fold into the cake batter -- DO NOT BEAT. Batter should be somewhat thick, but add water, if needed, to make a pourable batter.

Pour batter into prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes in a 350 oven. Allow layers to cool for 10 minutes before removing from cake tins. Cool cake completely before frosting. Cut each layer in half to create a four-layer cake.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
(Neufchatel tastes great, too, and has less fat -- as if that mattered given the rest of the recipe)
2 sticks butter or margarine
2 T vanilla
4 C powdered sugar
water or milk to thin, if needed

Barnmom..thanks for the recipes with the beets! My daughter especially will be interested in that one because she says she never made it because of the food coloring. Decisions decisions!
Joann