Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray or grease two 9-inch round cake pans or use parchment paper liners.

With a mixer on medium speed, beat together the shortening and the sugar.

Add the eggs and beat it well.

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and red food coloring and add it to mixture. Beat it thoroughly to get the red color completely mixed in.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt and add it alternately with the buttermilk and vanilla extract.

Lastly, put the baking soda on top of the batter and add the white vinegar on top of the baking soda. You will see the baking soda fizz and poof up! Then fold that into the batter completely on low speed.

Divide the cake batter evenly into the two cake pans. It is a thick cake batter so use a knife or offset spatula to even out the top of the batter in each cake pan.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Place the cake pans on a wire rack to cool.

Invert one cake layer onto a serving plate and frost the top. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and the sides of the cake. ( I like to use a Cream Cheese Frosting. That easy recipe is on my website.)