Red velvet cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease 2 x 17cm x 6cm springform cake tins and line the bases with baking paper. Cream the 1/2 cup oil, 220g castor sugar and 2 eggs until light and fluffy. Mix in 11/2 cups yoghurt, 1tsp vanilla, 1tsp vinegar and 2Tbsp red food colouring. 
2. Sift in the 270g cake flour, 2Tbsp cocoa, 2tsp baking powder, 1tsp bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt and fold through the mixture.
3. Once combined, pour into the baking tins and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tins, then cool further on a wire rack. 
5. To make the Italian coffee meringue icing, melt the 450g sugar and 2/3cup water in a saucepan over a medium heat, then bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the 3Tbsp coffee and mix through. Boil until the mixture reaches 115°C on a sugar thermometer, or until a small amount forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water. While the syrup is boiling, beat 4 egg whites using an electric hand-mixer until stiff peaks are formed. Slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites and whisk at a high speed for 5 minutes, or until the icing has cooled and become glossy. 
6. Insert a 1 cm flat piping nozzle into a large piping bag and fill with the icing. 
7. Sandwich the 2 layers of cake together with some of the icing. To ice the sides of the cake, hold the piping bag vertically against the base of the cake with the nozzle facing downwards. Gently squeeze the bag, moving up the side of the cake in a wave-like motion as the icing comes out of the nozzle. Continue icing the cake in this manner until the sides are completely covered. 
8. To ice the top of the cake, hold the nozzle facing down at one side of the cake and ice, moving the piping in an up-and-down motion to create a wavy effect. Continue icing the cake in this manner until the top is completely covered.

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