Valentine's Day Surprise

Ben absolutely loves red velvet cake & he hardly ever gets to eat it because he is the only one that likes it. So, this year for Valentine's Day, I made one for him... completely from scratch. He didn't know that I was doing it until he got home from work. I am horrible at keeping surprises so I was very proud of myself for planning this ahead & not spoiling my own surprise.

Here's the recipe:
You'll need

• 3/4 cup of butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 & 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of vinegar
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 oz of red food coloring
• 2 & 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 2 (8 oz) pckgs of cream cheese – softened
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of powdered sugar – sifted

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cream together the butter, eggs & sugar in a bowl.
3. Add the sugar, salt, baking soda, vinegar, vanilla & food coloring; mix well.
4. Add the flour & buttermilk alternatively & beat until all the lumps are out; pour evenly into three 9” cake pans.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Allow cake to cool completely then ice with cream cheese icing.
7. For the icing: Cream together cream cheese & butter until creamy.
8. Mix in the vanilla then gradually add the powdered sugar.