Red Velvet Cake:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325F (conventional, no fan) and line 3 8" cake pans with parchment paper and oil/butter
2. In a large bowl, sift in the flour, and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Whisk the ingredients together thoroughly and ensure there aren't any lumps
3. In a saucepan, add the butter, vegetable oil, water, Dutch processed cocoa powder and red gel food color. Place on the stove on medium low heat, and stir until the butter has melted. Once the mixture starts to simmer, cook and stir it for one more minute
4. Pour the hot liquid mixture onto the dry ingredients from step 2. Use a hand whisk to slowly and gently mix until the ingredients are just combined and no streaks of flour remain. The mixture might look a little split, don't worry and don't over mix
5. In a glass, mix together the whole milk and vinegar. Add the milk and vinegar mixture, the eggs and vanilla bean paste to the cake batter. Slowly and gently fold until the ingredients are just combined. You should have a smooth red cake batter 
6. Divide the cake batter evenly between the 3 8" cake pans. I like using a scale to do this so all cakes bake at the exact same time. Tap the pans on your counter hard 3-5 times to release any large air bubbles
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for ~18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out with light, moist crumbs on it (no wet batter, but not completely clean either).
8. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then carefully turn them out and let them fully cool down on wire racks

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Add the room temperature butter, cream cheese, vanilla, salt and sifted powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture looks smooth, fluffy and spreadable. Scrape the bottom and edges of the bowl once halfway through. Do not over-mix, as that can cause the frosting to become runny
2. If the frosting is too soft / runny, refrigerate for a few minutes until it reaches a spreadable consistency

Assembly:

1. Working one cake layer at time, carefully trim off the dome to level them. You may notice some holes in the cakes - don't worry, this is totally normal!
2. Place the first layer on your cake stand or turntable. Slather with a generous amount of the cream cheese frosting and spread it evenly. Repeat until all three layers are stacked on top of each other
3. Cover the cake with a thin layer of the frosting (crumb coat), spreading it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate for 15 minutes
4. Add the remaining frosting and decorate the cake however you like. I make crumbs using the trimmed off cake domes and use them to decorate
5. Serve & enjoy!

Video Tutorial:

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