Pink Velvet Cake

1. Make the cake
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. Grease and line the bottom of two 8” cake pans with parchment paper, grease the top of the parchment paper and the side of the cake pans. Sprinkle flour on the side of the cake pan and tap out the excess. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg white and half of the sugar. Beat on medium speed until the meringue is formed. It should be shiny white with stiff peaks. Transfer the meringue into a different bowl and set aside.
5. In the same stand mixer bowl, without washing, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Then add oil, the extracts and red food color. Beat until incorporated.
6. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Stir in the salt, and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly.
7. Add the flour mixture to the butter and oil mixture in 3 increments alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Scrape the bottom and side of the bowl to ensure thorough mixing. Then with a light hand, fold in the meringue.
8. Divide the cake batter among the two prepared cake pans. Bake in the middle oven rack for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch, remove cakes from the pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting

1. Add all ingredients except the food color to a stand mixer bowl. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients, then increase the mixer speed gradually to high and beat until the frosting is white and fluffy.
2. Optional: use red food color to dye part of the frosting pink for the decorations if desired. See steps below.
3. Assemble the cake
4. Place the first layer of cake on a cake stand or plate, add 1 cup of frosting on top and level out with an offset spatula. Place the second layer of cake on top and add another cup of frosting on top, level it out. Add another cup of frosting to the side of the cake.
5. At this point, dye the remaining frosting with a few drops of red food color to get a light pink color to use for the decoration. Fill a pastry bag fitted with your favorite decorating tip and pipe decoration on top of the cake. Add swirls to cover the base of the cake.
6. Serve right away or refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow the cake to come to room temperature about 30 minutes before serving if refrigerated.