Red velvet layer cake with cream cheese frosting

Set the oven to 350 and whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

Cream the softened butter about 30 seconds so there are no hard clumps.

Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium about three minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down.

Add the eggs one at a time, letting the first incorporate before the second.

Add the vanilla and mix, kicking to high for a few seconds.

Sift in the cocoa powder and mix.

Stir the white vinegar and the food colouring into the buttermilk.

Add half the flour on the lowest speed, then half the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour, then the rest of the buttermilk.

Finish folding by hand until the colour is even and no flour remains; do not overmix or the cake will be gummy and dense.

Divide between the pans, weighing to check they are even, and smooth with an offset spatula.

Reserve a couple of tablespoons of batter, colour it more deeply and bake it as a mini cupcake for about 10 minutes, for crumbs.

Bake six inch layers 30 to 35 minutes; eight or nine inch layers 25 to 30; cupcakes 15.

For the frosting, cream the softened butter and cream cheese on medium about three minutes until smooth and fluffy.

Add the pinch of salt and the vanilla, then the sifted powdered sugar gradually on low, scraping down.

Raise to medium and mix one minute until fluffy.

Grate the cooled mini cupcake on a cheese grater to make fluffy crumbs.

Reserve about a cup of frosting for the piped topping; spread about half a cup between each layer.

Frost the top and sides, smooth with a bench scraper, adding more frosting where it is needed.

Variation: crumb coat with about half a cup smoothed paper-thin, chill, then finish covering.

Pipe a rope around the top edge with a medium closed star tip.

Press the crumbs gently onto the bottom of the cake as a skirt while the frosting is still sticky, and chill before slicing.