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

Trisha Yearwood was on Rachael Ray on Tuesday and here is her recipe and Garth's favorite cake. It will be in her; Trisha's new cook book Trisha Yearwood's German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Frosting Ingredients 4 ounces sweet dark chocolate (see Shopping Hint below) 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup warm milk 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 medium egg whites 2 cups sugar 5 medium egg yolks, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup buttermilk, well shaken For the coconut frosting: 1 cup sugar 4 medium egg yolks 1 cup evaporated milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 10 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed grated coconut 1 1/2 cups finely ground pecans, walnuts, or almonds Yields: 12 servings Preparation Prepare the chocolate by melting it in the top of a double boiler, stirring until it is smooth. Add 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of the butter and stir until it is melted and blended. Add 1/4 cup of warm milk and stir until smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottoms only of three 9-inch cake pans with circles of parchment paper, or grease each pan bottom only with solid shortening and dust lightly with flour. Sift together the sifted and measured flour, baking soda, and salt. Whip the egg whites until stiff using the wire beater of the mixer. Transfer the beaten whites to a separate bowl and set aside. In the mixer bowl, cream the remaining 1 1/2 sticks of butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted, cooled chocolate and the vanilla. Mix well. With the mixer on very low, stir in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Do this by adding about a third of the flour and slowly stirring it in completely. Then add about half the buttermilk and stir it in. Continue adding flour and buttermilk in this manner, ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir again. With a long-handled spoon or spatula, fold and stir the beaten egg whites into the batter until the batter is smooth with no visible clumps of whites. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. Bake on the middle rack of the oven, allowing at least 1/4-inch clearance between the pans and the oven walls. The cake will rise above the pan edges as it bakes but will not spill over and will settle back down as it continues to bake. The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pans and springs back to a light touch. Cool layers in the pans for about 8 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers out onto wire racks that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cool layers completely before frosting. To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in the top of a double boiler. Stir with a wire whisk until the yolks are fully incorporated. Add the butter. Place over simmering water and bring to a boil (see Note below). Simmer for 12-15 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Cool. To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand and spread with frosting. Frost each layer completely, top and sides, as it is added to the cake. Note: You can also make the frosting in a regular saucepan, but be sure to stir it constantly, as it scorches quite easily. Also, you must use the finely grated fresh or frozen coconut, not canned or shredded, to be able to spread the frosting on the sides of the cake easily. Shopping Hint: For those cooks who use a lot of sweet baking chocolate, the chocolate used in this recipe can be purchased in bulk online at www.cocoasupply.com. Choose La Equatoriale  Dark Chocolate Coverture. The cost, including postage, is half what you would probably pay in grocery stores. Share the large bar with your friends who bake.

I'm a simple cook. To be in my "favorites" file, it has to be easy, economical, and not require me to run to the store. For years I have used the "Hot Milk Sponge Cake" recipe in my old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. I noticed they've posted it on AllRecipes.com but they never allow anyone to give credit to the original printing of it. Here's the link to that recipe. Leave off the last three ingredients and the fifth level of instructions if you don't want to use the frosting. That was not part of the original recipe and probably something they threw in. I never frost this cake. I usually bake it especially to serve with strawberries and vanilla ice cream, but DH in in the habit of eating up the cake before the strawberries are gone so I have to make extra. So, OK, I know a sponge cake is not a pound cake, because historically a pound cake gets its name from the fact that it calls for a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour.... but we actually like this better because it's not so high in fat. And when I serve it to guests, they always compliment me on my delicious "pound cake". --Ilene

Bringing this to the top again. This is my Mom's awesome carrot cake that I make regularly. Carrot Cake 2 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp cinnamon 2 cups sugar 4 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 8 1/2 oz can crushed pineapple well-drained 3 1/2 cups grated carrot 1/2 cup chopped walnuts Icing: 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 tbsp sour cream 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 cup icing sugar In a large bowl sift flour baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar, eggs and oil and beat with electric mixer. Stir in carrots, pineapple and walnuts; mix well. Grease and flour a 9x13" baking dish. Bake in 375 degree oven 45-55 minutes until done. For icing, beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla. Add icing sugar and beat well. Cool cake and spread with icing and garnish with more chopped walnuts.