Uncle Gary's "I Desperately Need to be Creative!" Virgin Red Velvet Cake

So I did it...I made my Red Velvet Cake for the first time. Months of sick fantasizing came to a boil late Friday night when I made the cake, and continued Saturday afternoon when I made and applied the cream cheese-based icing. I'm still not sure exactly where this urge originated, but I do love a challenge and also love food, so perhaps it's as simple as that. And it's something new and creative, and i'm STARVED for anything stimulating. Props must be given to Paula Deen, whose grandma's recipe I mainly stole from...though I altered it slightly, including tossing in a dash of Hawaiian coffee liquor. And so, well, I wasn't sure whether to refrigerate the cake or not...and this drastically influences how a cake tastes...so i'm learning. This cake isn't supposed to be HARD...which it kinda was when cold, but once I let it sit out a bit, it became more MOIST and FLUFFY like it SHOULD be. People who tasted it swear it was good, and I know it wasn't AWFUL, but i'm just a perfectionist. SO...well, I guess it was a pretty worthy first try at a "classic." I give myself credit, dammit. Are you shocked at that?