Red Velvet Cake

Two 1-oz. bottles red food coloring
3 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk*
2-1/4 cups cake flour (sift 3 times before final measuring)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. White House Distilled White Vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix food coloring and cocoa powder. Set aside. Cream together
shortening and sugar. Add eggs and coloring paste. Beat 10
minutes with electric mixer. Add buttermilk; slowly add flour,
then add salt and vanilla. Add vinegar and soda and gently fold
into mixture with spatula. Spoon into two 9-inch greased and
floured layer pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Do not
overbake. Frost with your favorite buttercream icing or cream
cheese icing (recipe follows).

*Cooking Tip: 1 cup of regular milk plus 1 tbsp. White House
Distilled White Vinegar (let stand 5 minutes) equals 1 cup
buttermilk.

Cream Cheese Frosting (for Red Velvet Cake)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 pound package confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream together the softened cream cheese and butter. Add the
confectioner's sugar and vanilla, mixing until light and fluffy.
Fold in pecans.
Spread frosting on cooled cake.