Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:

• Cake:
• Shortening - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
• Eggs - 2
• Cocoa - 2 tablespoons
• Red food coloring - 4 tablespoons
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
• Buttermilk - 1 cup
• All Purpose flour - 2 1/2 cups
• Baking Soda - 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Distilled white vinegar - 1 tablespoon
• Icing: 
• All Purpose flour - 5 tablespoons
• Milk - 1 cup 
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Butter (room temperature) - 1 cup
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon

Steps: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. Grease two cake pans with oil or butter and lightly sprinkle some all purpose flour on top.
2. Mix the shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar until it turns very light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and mix again.
3. Make a paste of the cocoa and red food coloring and add it into the mixture.
4. Mix salt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and buttermilk together. 
5. Add the all purpose flour to the batter, alternating with the milk mixture. Mix well.
6. Now, mix the soda and vinegar and gently fold into the cake batter. Do not mix the batter anymore after this point.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake them in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes. To check if it is done, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and check to see if it comes out clean.
8. Icing: Cook 5 tablespoons of flour and milk on low heat, until it turns thick. Stir constantly. Now let  it cool completely. While this mixture is cooling, mix 1 cup of sugar, butter, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until it turns light and fluffy. Add the cooled flour mixture and mix until the frosting has a good spreading consistency. 
9. Now, take one of the cakes and spread a layer of frosting and then top it off with the other layer of cake.
10. After you have layered the cakes, you may now start spreading the frosting over the entire cake and start decorating.