Red Velvet Cake

I learned a very important lesson today. Replace your baking soda every now and then. I just haven't used it that much, so it's a kind of old box. I have made this recipe several times, but this time, I guess my baking soda was just too old. The cake layers sunk in the middle, so sorry about the bad picture.

I don't have three 8" cake pans, so I make this a two layer cake instead of three and pour the remaining batter into a 9" square pan .

Cake Batter:
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 ounce red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Frosting:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
12 ounces white chocolate
1 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour three 8 inch pans.
In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter with sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix food coloring with cocoa and add to mixture.
Add flour alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla and salt.
Mix baking soda with vinegar, and gently stir into mixture. Be careful not to over mix.
Divide batter into three prepared 8 inch round pans. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Allow to cool.
To make the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing: Melt the white chocolate and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in melted white chocolate and softened butter. Beat until it is the consistency of whipped cream, then use to fill and frost the cake.