Red Velvet Cake with Sugared Cranberries

I love this cake. It’s great any time of year, but especially during the holidays. Doesn’t it say “merry” in big capital letters? A friend asked for the recipe, so here it is (after the jump).

Red Velvet Cake with Sugared Cranberries
(from Midwest Living)

Ingredients
1 package 2-layer-size German chocolate cake mix
1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup cooking oil
3 eggs
1 1-ounce bottle red food coloring (2 tablespoons)
White Chocolate/Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
1-1/2 cups flaked coconut, coconut shards or purchased coconut chips, toasted
Sugared cranberries (optional)

1. Grease and flour two 9×1-1/2 round cake pans or two 8x8x2-inch square baking pans or coat them with nonstick spray for baking; set the pans aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs, and food coloring with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides again if needed. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake cakes in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes for 9-inch pans or 30 to 35 minutes for square pans, or until a toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the layers of cake from the pans. Cool the layers thoroughly on wire racks.
4. Spread White Chocolate/Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and over sides and top of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Cover and refrigerate cake to store. If you like, garnish with sugared cranberries.

White Chocolate/Cream Cheese Frosting: In a small saucepan, melt 4 ounces white baking chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently; cool 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a very large mixing bowl, beat 1/3 cup butter, softened; 1/2 of an 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened; and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds or until smooth. Gradually beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in 1 tablespoon milk. Gradually beat in an additional 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in melted white chocolate until well combined. If needed, beat in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make frosting spreading consistency. Makes about 2-2/3 cups.

Toasted Coconut: To toast coconut, spread coconut in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 3 to 4 minutes for shards or 6 to 7 minutes for larger flakes or until just starting to brown, stirring once halfway through baking.

Sugared Cranberries: Toss frozen cranberries with granulated sugar to coat.