Velvet Elvis Cake
A twist on Red Velvet Cake — think blue suede shoes!
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ sticks of softened butter
- ½ cup blueberry puree*
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons Wilton royal blue food coloring
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
*Blueberry Puree: 1 cup of blueberries + ¼ cup water. Boil blueberries and water in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until berries are very tender. Remove from heat, squish with a fork. Cool. Push through a sieve with a spoon to remove seeds and pulp. Use ½ cup for this recipe.
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 8-inch round pans.
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar, butter, and blueberry puree. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs. Mix in cocoa and food coloring. Sift together flour and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Mix in vanilla. Combine baking soda and vinegar; add to mixture.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 22 to 27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cut rounded tops off layers so cake will stack evenly.
Icing:
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese (or half cream cheese, half mascarpone)
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 12 large marshmallows, (melt in microwave)
- 1 box confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
In a mixing bowl, blend together cream cheese and butter. Melt marshmallows in microwave; mix in while still warm. Mix in confectioners’ sugar. Fold in coconut and nuts. Spread on completely cooled cake.
Nathan‘s favorite cake is Red Velvet. I thought he might also like Blue Velvet Cake after seeing a few recipes on the Internet. The “blue” comes strictly from food coloring, so I wondered if I could adjust the recipe to include some authentic blue coloring, thus the addition of blueberry puree. The puree alone makes a purple batter, so food coloring is still necessary to create a deep blue cake. My daughter Michelle and I tried it for the first time today and thought it looked and tasted great. Nathan balked at the pecans and coconut in the frosting — maybe I’ll leave those out next time.
Tags: blue suede shoes, Blue Velvet Cake, blueberry puree, Nathan, Red Velvet Cake, Velvet Elvis, Velvet Elvis Cake
