Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This week was my boyfriend's 29th birthday and a red velvet cake was perfect for celebrating!  The sour cream and pudding addition to the cake mix helps lock in the moisture, while the pudding also makes the cake a bit sturdier. 

Cake:
Ingredients:
2 9" cake pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain German chocolate cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 bottle (1 ounce) red food coloring
3 large eggs

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Pour half of the batter into each cake pan. Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cake pans, remove, and place on wire rack to cool. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Frosting:
Ingredients:
4 ounces butter softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla frosting.  Frost the top of one of the cakes, add the second layer to the top.  Frost all sides of the cake and decorate as you wish.