Pink Velvet Cake

I am making a Red Velvet Cake for another librarian's birthday tomorrow. The last time I made a Red Velvet Cake was with Pauline for Steve's birthday. I remember we made a double T out of parchment paper, laid it over the cake, and frosted around it, so that there was a big red double T in the cake's center.

Red Velvet Cake seems to have had a resurgence lately, with cupcakes being especially prevalent. It's a buttermilk cake with a tiny bit of cocoa powder. I'm not a huge fan of it. The only memorable one I had was at Le Gamin in Brooklyn, and if they all tasted like that one I would be a convert.

Ran into a couple of snags with my baking tonight. First, I didn't have enough red food coloring. I emptied two small bottles and then still had to go to the store. I had already been to the store once tonight to buy cream cheese and assorted necessities. It was a little bit more fun going at 11:15pm. You will never guess whom I saw in the checkout line, but try. Wonder Woman and Bat Girl! Dressed to the nines. Bat Girl had on her mask. Wonder Woman had on gold tights. It was pretty awesome. I was dying to see their mode of transportation, which was a silver Dodge Neon. I felt sure they'd fly away, but no.

The second problem was that I didn't have any regular unsweetened cocoa, just Dutch-processed, which is darker and has a different acidity level. I should have known better, but I used what I had on hand. The batter was a brownish pink instead of red, and the cooked cake looks reddish-brown, not the bright red I'd hoped for. This is the point where I try to decide if I'm going to make another cake and try for better results or take the inferior cake to work. At this hour, I'm thinking we'll be okay with pink velvet cake tomorrow.