In my family, this tends to be used as a birthday cake but any occasion is reason enough to try it. Typically we do not make it using the full amount of red food coloring. If you choose to cut back on the red food coloring you will need to add water for the amount of red food coloring you don’t use (so if you use one ounce of coloring you will still need to add one ounce of water).

Cake Batter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 oz red food coloring
2 level tablespoons of cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat the shortening, sugar, eggs, food coloring, cocoa, salt, buttermilk and flour to create batter. Then mix together the vinegar and baking soda then stir into the batter – do not beat. Pour the batter into two 9-inch round pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick into center of cake to check if it fully baked. If batter sticks to the toothpick it is not ready to be removed from oven.
Once removed allow the cakes to cool for about five minutes an then turn cake out onto wire cooling racks.

Icing
1 cup sugar
1 cup crisco
1 cup milk
5 scant tablespoons of flour (do not use cornstarch)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together the sugar and crisco. Then cook the milk and flour until thick; allow it to cool and then blend in the sugar and crisco mix. Stir in the vanilla. Spread on to cooled cake.