Savannah's Perfectly Ravishing Red Velvet Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.

Pour red food coloring into a small bowl and mix with cocoa powder to make a paste. In a large bowl beat 1/2 cup of butter sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until smooth and thoroughly combined; mix in the red color mixture salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Gradually mix in the buttermilk alternating with flour until the batter is smooth. Mix the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and stir into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing cakes to finish cooling on racks.

In a bowl mash cream cheese with 1/2 cup softened butter and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until smooth and creamy; stir in the confectioners' sugar about half a cup at a time until the frosting is thick and spreadable. Frost fully-cooled layers.