Fourth of July Red Velvet Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 6 inch cake pans and line each of them with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and yogurt and warm in the microwave for about 20 seconds or so to bring to room temp. Stir in the vanilla, vinegar, and red food gel. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until fully combined. Pour in the vegetable oil and eggs and beat until completely combined. Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.

Next, alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture in thirds as the stand mixer mixes on low speed. Mix until just combined. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.

Pour batter into the three cake pans, using a kitchen scale to distribute the batter evenly.

Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the cakes spring back when you touch them and the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans.

Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.

Slowly add the powdered sugar in, beating on low speed until fully combined. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.

Secure the first layer of cake on the cake stand with a small amount of frosting on the bottom. Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to measure out the frosting for each layer. I used a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop and put 3 scoops of frosting on each layer. Cover the whole cake in a thin layer of frosting for the crumb coat. Place in the fridge to firm up for one hour.

If making red, white, and blue stars, take out 150g of frosting per color and place in three separate bowls. Color one red, one blue, and leave the last one white. Transfer each of them to piping bags with star piping tips of various sizes. Place in the freezer for a few minutes until ready to use.

After one hour, frost the cake with a thicker layer of frosting, making it as smooth as possible. Then, pipe red, white, and blue stars all over the cake as desired.

Keep the cake in the fridge until ready to serve.