Will you be my Valentine? (Red Velvet Cake Roll Recipe)

I guess it is a little late to be asking that question since it is the day after Valentine's Day...  I'm not a huge Valentine's Day fan and so J and I usually do not exchange gifts, this year was no exception.  This does not mean that we don't celebrate it though!  I planned a nice dinner for us to enjoy at home because I'm would not even consider going close to a restaurant on Valentine's Day, going to the grocery store was enough of a pain!

On my way home from my interview (I think it went pretty well!! Crossing my fingers that I get the job!) I stopped by the store to get ingredients for a new dessert recipe!  It was funny to see people who were definitely grabbing last minute flowers and cards for their loved ones.  When I got home I changed out of my suit and into baking clothes.

J really likes red velvet cake and I've never had any so I decided to try yet ANOTHER Food Network recipe this week!  I decided to make a Red Velvet-Cherry Cake Roll.  I've never made a cake roll before, but was definitely up for the challenge.

Red Velvet-Cherry Cake Roll by Food Network Magazine

What you need for the batter:

• Butter (to butter the pan with)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups cherry soda
• 2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (I made mine by taking a cup of milk and adding a tbsp on vinegar)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring (this will turn it BRIGHT red!)
• 2 teaspoons almost extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

What you need for the filling:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

How to make the cake (Directions are from Food Network):

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust with flour.

Bring the cola to a simmer in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, almond and vanilla extracts, and the cola syrup.

 Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. 

 Spread the batter on the prepared baking sheet; bake until the cake pulls away from the pan, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the pan on a rack, 5 minutes.

Dust a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) with confectioners' sugar. Invert the cake onto the towel and peel off the parchment. Trim the cake edges. Starting with a short end, roll up the cake around the towel; let cool completely on a rack.

Make the filling: Whisk the cream cheese, 1/2 cup cream and the almond extract in a large bowl. Beat the remaining 1 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form; gradually fold into the cream cheese mixture. Chill until ready to use.

Unroll the cooled cake. Spread with the filling, then gently reroll the cake and transfer to a platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

This probably cracked because I didn't let the cake cool completely in the towel

While I was in the process of making the cake these arrived for me!

We enjoyed our delicious dinner of Salmon, rosemary potatoes, and cauliflower, and after letting ourselves digest a bit I pulled the cake roll out of fridge, sliced a piece for each of us and surprised J with some delicious cake!  For my first time experience with red velvet it was good, but I definitely enjoy other cake flavors better.

Hope all of you had a pleasant Valentine's Day!