Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease three 5-inch round cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar and egg until well combined. Mix in buttermilk, vanilla extract and food coloring paste, followed by vinegar and espresso.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just blended.

Pour the cake batter evenly between cake pans, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and set on a rack. Let cakes cool completely.

To prepare cream cheese frosting, place cream cheese and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

To assemble the cake, simply sandwich cake layers with the cream cheese frosting in between and place on a platter. Or fit a pasty bag with a big star tip and fill cakes with the frosting. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake as it sits on the platter. Starting at the inner edge of the border, continue piping a spiral of buttercream inward. Smooth the inside frosting with an offset spatula, leaving the edges untouched. Repeat to frost the remaining cake layers. Garnish with fresh flowers.

Cover and refrigerate the cake. Leave cake at room temperature for at least an hour before serving.