Caramel Cake: Daring Baker

Caramel Cake
Challenge.

I believe it was Tommy Lasorda who said that the difference between impossible and possible lies in a person's determination. Well, I agree with him but let me add to his theory.

I'm roughly a year old member in Daring Baker's circle. For the past months I have been enjoying our monthly challenges much to my husband's content. Imagine he gets to enjoy a monthly surprise of goodies. But since we moved into our new place certain things have changed drastically. My baby girl who used to be a simple bystander in the house that used to allow me to do my monthly challenges sans hassle has now grown into a meddlesome (in her own cute ways) little girl. And I tell you, when I say meddlesome I really mean it.

For the record, it took me almost four days to bake this cake, make the frosting, the caramel and photo-shooting it. And yes, I call this, determination a very strong one powdered with lots n' lots of patience.

A big thanks to this delicious sweet challenge hosted by our great hosts Dolores of Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Brownie and Blondie, Jenny of Foray into Food, Natalie of Gluten A-go-go and a big big thanks to Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater for sharing with us her signature recipe


CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
by Shuna Fish Lydon
recipe link here


10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

Notes from Natalie for those of you baking gluten-free:

So the GF changes to the cake would be:

2 cups of gluten free flour blend (w/xanthan gum) or 2 cups of gf flour blend + 1 1/2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1/2 - 1 tsp baking powder (this would be the recipe amount to the amount it might need to be raised to & I'm going to check)

I'll let you when I get the cake finished, how it turns out and if the baking powder amount needs to be raised.


Preheat oven to 350F

Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light


Other DB challenges:

Filbert Cake Praline Buttercream
French Bread

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful cake, girl! I'm melting! melting already! Esp with the caramel candy on top! wow! Drool-worthy pictures! I can taste your cake already - sinfully sweet!

zorra said...

The cake looks perfect! Well done. Big hug to your baby girl. :-)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A perfect and very pretty cake! Great job!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

Very nice cake... Hope your little baby didn't get too meddlesome while making the caramel. That stuff is liquid magma hot.

Deeba PAB said...

YAY for you Dhhangit...good to see you again! Love the cake, & love the fact that the little one is becoming more involved (he he). Been there, done that...so I can jump with glee!!! Missed you! xxoxoxo Deeba

Marija said...

Such a cute cake Dhanggit! Love it!

lubnakarim06 said...

You make my heart melt with this yummy cake. Looks rockingly yummy.

Unknown said...

oh my, looks so yum and beautiful... btw, an award is waiting for you... again, welcome back... :)

Laura Rebecca said...

So pretty!

Engineer Baker said...

Kudos for persevering through distractions - the cake looks wonderful!

Cynthia said...

I like you presented these individually.

Shaheen said...

4 DAYS? Wow! You are one very determined person. Your cake looks stunning. :)

Maria Verivaki said...

well done, lovely caramel decorations too

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Haven't seen you post in a while and I'm happy to see your lovely caramel cake.
I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. :)

Dragon said...

I'm glad your determination paid off. :) Lovely cake and sugar work!

Laurie said...

That is gorgeous! Well done :)

Anonymous said...

Those four days were worth it - your cake looks amazing! Nice job!

Beth said...

Four days of patience paid off. Your photos are gorgeous. The caramel decorations are a beautiful touch.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, your caramel decorations are really the "icing on the cake"! Looks really beautiful. :)

Anonymous said...

A dlicious looking cake..and I'm sure worhth all four days of creating!
Ronell

Caroline said...

WOW, what a pretty cake. That's a cake worth waiting 4 days for. :)

Leslie said...

he he he he he he!!! I laugh only because I feel your pain sista!!!
Imagine 2 of those little stinkers running around the house. However, like always, you did perfect!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Guess the 4 days of making it were worth it! It's beautiful!

Shari said...

I love the caramel that you made to decorate the cake! Looks great.

Gretchen Noelle said...

Wonderful gorgeous cake! Very impressive - and over 4 days, wow!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Gorgeous pictures... *almost* too pretty to eat! I love caramel so I'm sure I'd devour this :)

Gloria Baker said...

Dhanggit, sis Im sooooooooo happy you comeback dear!!!! This is so beautiful and amazing I think how Joelen almost too pretty to eat, but I would est the same!!!! kisses!Gloria

Anonymous said...

Love your version, especially the caramel decoration!
I know what you mean with demanding toddler ;) I usually bake during the evening.

Manggy said...

Whoa, four days-- what a production! But it looks totally worth it-- such an elegant way to decorate too! :)

Anonymous said...

You're back at blogging! Yippie yay! :-)

You did a fantastic job with this challenge, your husband is very lucky indeed to get his monthly sweet experiment. Especially when the experiment turn out that well. Yum!

Jescel said...

Your hubby must be lucky indeed! And wow, you're one very determined lady.... ;o)

Meeta K. Wolff said...

simply gorgeous dhanggit!

Sidney said...

Yes...your husband is very lucky !

Well...soon your daughter will help you in the kitchen ! :-)

Anonymous said...

awesome cake....yummy! couldn't help leaving a comment dear.
I am new here..both to ur blog n the blogging world...
Do stop by my place too.:)

Finla said...

Beautiful and Delicous

Sylvia said...

Well done , Dangghit
Looks beautiful and delicious.

Adam said...

4 days? Well, it certainly looks worth it. The cream layers have this ridiculous luscious-osity going on. I'd imagine your man probably devoured the thing already :)

Suzana said...

I'm so glad you put the effort to finish this caramel heaven, Dhanggit! Many kisses to you and the lovely little thing! ;-)

Half Baked said...

Beautiful! Your sugar decoration is so pretty! Nice job:)

Shalimar said...

4 days to prepare and less than 4 hours to eat lol..
one day i will join DB.. its just impossible bec i do not have my own kitchen,,,

Rosie said...

Dhhangit, your cake is so beautiful and what a lovely job you did :) L:ovely to see you back sweetie...

Rosie x

Oggi said...

I love caramelized anything. The cake looks perfect and utterly delicious!

Dolores said...

Four days? You go girl! Thanks for baking with us this month.

Bunny said...

It's beautiful Dhanggit!!

glamah16 said...

I'm amazed you pulled it off with the move, resetting and all. Beautiful job as always.

Ivy said...

Wow, the cake looks stunning and people who are determined to do things are always winners!

Deborah said...

I actually managed to do mine in one day, but then again, I was home all day alone, so that's probably how I managed it!! Your cake looks so beautiful!!

Ruth Strong said...

Great work on this month's challenge. Love that you made mini cakes

Anonymous said...

Mouth watering indeed ! Is this included on your birthday celebration this WE ?

Mansi said...

looks like you nailed that one, alright!:) looks perfect Dhangitt:)

Susan from Food Blogga said...

4 days? Good god, girl! You rock!

Unknown said...

wow...4 days eh? It does look absolutely beautiful!

daphne said...

what an effort! hope the new house is going well..

and 4 days to bake this cake? gosh, that's patience my dear!

Noob Cook said...

FOUR days! bravo to your perseverance and determination ... the cake looks great!

Lori Lynn said...

That is one of the prettier caramel cakes out there, I personally love the garnish.

Beachlover said...

must salut you for your patience!! 4 days!! so far mine longest is 2 days,bnaking and icing the next day..Love your little gal face,she so pretty especially her eyes::)

Big Boys Oven said...

something to die for and so divine!