Red "Rose" Velvet Peppermint Cake

In full disclosure, this was the first time I ever made a red velvet cake. 

It was my Mother-in-Law's birthday, and my Father-in-Law wanted everything perfect! The whole thing was really just the sweetest thing. 

I wanted to make a cake that was as classy and timeless as she is.

I didn't have much time to make the cake, and I'd never made a red velvet before, so I ran to the store and grabbed a few boxes of Betty Crocker.

The frosting on the other hand... that I made from scratch... I ALWAYS make my frosting from scratch. 

Does anyone else think store bought frosting tastes like chemicals?

Anyway. I thought I would share my delicious frosting recipe that helped take this box cake to a whole new level.

First I baked two pans of cake, I cut the second one to be slightly smaller so it could be a tiered cake. After they cooled, I put frosting on the larger cake to add filling between the layers.

Here is the frosting recipe (more or less):

The hard part about sharing this recipe is that it was given to me by my mother, and she isn't really a "recipe" kind of person. She's just good enough to slap stuff together and it tastes amazing. So when I asked for the recipe for frosting for the first time, and she began with "you take a wab of crisco..." I knew I was in for a treat! 

• 1 "wab" Cup of Crisco
• 1/4 cup of Milk (possibly adding more later depending on texture desired)
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract-
• A Dash of Salt
• 4-5 Cups (or more) of Powdered Sugar (Add until you reach your desired texture)

Whip it all together in a Kitchen Aid, or with a hand mixer. Or if you have mad skills, with a whisk.

After whipping this up, I got a hankering to throw in about a teaspoon of Peppermint Extract, and BOY was I glad I did (it was amazing!) That is the beauty of this easy frosting recipe, you can adapt it so easily for any recipe. 

My favorite part of this cake was how simple the design was, yet, it was perfect with the ever-so-classic Red Rose, sprinkled with chocolate shavings.

It. Was. Wonderful.

Not to mention I absolutely LOVED decorating with real, fresh flowers. This will definitely be happening again... and again.

ENJOY!