RED VELVET STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE LAYER CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

For the Red Velvet Cake Layers:

2 ½C AP Flour

1 ½C Sugar

1t Baking Soda

1t Salt

2t Cocoa Powder

1 ½C Vegetable Oil

1C Buttermilk, Room Temperature

2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature

2T Red Food Coloring (1 oz)

1t White Distilled Vinegar

1t Vanilla

For the Cream Cheese Poundcake Layers:

1 ½ Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese, Softened

1 ½C Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1 ½C AP Flour

Pinch of Salt

2t Vanilla

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 8oz Packages of Cream Cheese, Softened

2 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Softened

4C Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted

2t Vanilla

Fresh Strawberries, Cut into Cubes

For the Cake:

3 Prepared Red Velvet Cake Layers

2 Prepared Cream Cheese Poundcake Layers

Prepared Cream Cheese Frosting

Fresh Strawberries, For Garnish

Toasted Chopped Pecans, For Garnish

1. To Make the Red Velvet Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray 3 cake pans with Pam and set them aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed. Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven, evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before layering …