My friend Tanya asked me to make her a cake for her birthday based on a cake she had in Hawaii which was a Red Velvet Cake with a layer of Cheesecake. The theme for her birthday was black and white so we she asked for the red velvet cake to be black to fit in with her theme..
Basically I made a Red Velvet Cake but used Black Gel Colouring instead of the traditional Red. Sliced the cake in 3 and layered it with cheesecake and then iced with a Cream Cheese Icing. See pic below... I sliced the cake in 3 and using the same pan I made the cake in, layered the cheese and let it set in the fridge before removing from the pan and icing it and then made chocolate curls for the top.
For the Black Velvet Cake...
2 Cups of Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 Cups of Caster Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Cup of Vegetable Oil
2 Free Range Eggs
1 Cup of Buttermilk if you don't have butter milk see below..
(I used 1 Cup of Skim milk and 1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice)
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar ( I used organic)
1/2 Cup of freshly brewed coffee ( I used a few shots of coffee using my coffee machine)
2 Tablespoons of Cocoa
Black Gel Food Coloring
In a large bowl add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and Cocoa. Stir to combine. In another bowl add the vegetable oil and caster sugar. Stir to combine, add the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, apple cider, coffee and food colouring. Mix until really well combined and smooth. Add the wet mix slowly to the dry mix and fold until combined. Pour into 2 or 3 9 inch baking paper lined tins depending on whether you want a 2 or 3 layered cake. Bake at 170 C for approx 35 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Let them cool on a wire rack. I leave them in the tins for approx 10 minutes to cool.
For the Cheesecake...
500 Grams of Cream Cheese (I used low fat)
2/3 Cup of Caster Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
300 ml Cream (I used reduced fat)
3 Teaspoons of Gelatine dissolved in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of hot water
Beat the cream cheese until soft, add the sugar and beat until well combined. Add the vanilla and cream and beat until thick. Add the gelatine and beat again until well combined.
Too assemble the cake use the same tin you cooked the cake in. I used a 9 inch for this recipe. Add one layer on cake to the bottom, add half of the cheesecake mixture and then top with another layer of cake, add the rest of the cheesecake mixture and then top with the top layer of cake. Glad wrap and put into the fridge to set for a few hours. Carefully remove the cake and then coat with the cream cheese frosting. I did this in 2 parts. Coated with a thin layer and then popped into the fridge for it to set a little before adding the final layer. Let the icing set completely in the fridge before topping with homemade chocolate curls. To make the curls I melt chocolate and pour into baking paper, let it set then run a knife down it to make the curls then pop them into the freezer, if you are unsure how to do this best option is to find a tutorial on you tube, its just takes a bit of practice.
Cream Cheese Frosting..
500 Grams of Cream Cheese (again I used low fat)
150 Grams of Icing Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
225 ml of Cream
Beat the cream cheese until smooth and then add the icing sugar. Beat until well combined and add the vanilla. Add the cream a little at time beating in between each addition until thick and creamy.
