After 97 books, Martha knows a thing or two about baking, and there were plenty of recipes to choose from when deciding what to make out of Cake Perfection. I landed on the red velvet, because though its not technically a holiday cake, the colors are unmistakably Santa-like. Her recipe did not call for sprinkles, but I couldn’t resist making it a little more festive. Without them, this cake is a perfect everyday cake for any time of the year, just as the book suggests. A few things to note: If you don’t have gel paste food coloring, you can substitute regular liquid food coloring. To achieve the level of red I prefer, I used 1 tablespoon. If you like a drippier frosting to run down the sides like I do, add the few tablespoons of heavy cream to the recipe as I suggest, drizzling in slowly while mixing until you reach a desired consistency.

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Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

Red Velvet Pound Cake

• 10 tablespoons (141 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pan
• 1½ cups (195 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1¼ cups (248 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs (150 grams), room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• ½ cup (113 grams) buttermilk, room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon red gel-paste food coloring

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup (60 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)

Instructions

Make the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Dust with cocoa, tapping out any excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a separate medium bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

3. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Beat in ½ teaspoon vanilla and the vinegar.

4. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour mixture, until just combined. Add gel; beat until fully incorporated.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter and smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes, tenting with foil if browning too quickly. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack to cool completely. (Cake can be stored, wrapped in plastic, at room temperature up to 2 days.)

Make the Frosting:

6. When ready to serve, beat cream cheese with confectioners’ sugar and remaining ¼ teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl and with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Drizzle in the optional heavy cream and beat until your desired consistency. Spread evenly over top of cake with an offset spatula. Slice cake and serve.