This months challenge was hosted by Dolores, Alex and Jenny. They chose a fabulous Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting recipe by Shuna Fish Lydon .
Be sure to check out all of the other Daring Bakers creations.
The rules were simple for this month- make the cake and the frosting. Plain and simple. Also, there was an added bonus, sort of like an "extra-credit" (that I flunked) of making, what I hear is, delicious Vanilla Caramels.
I did attempt the caramels, however, I'm not sure where, but somewhere I went terribly wrong. I researched and researched and researched where to find Golden Syrup in my part of town and finally found some almost an hour away from home (which of course, sparked an argument with my husband due to how far away I wanted to (and did!) drive for this syrup). After driving out to get it and paying $10 for two little cans of liquid sugar, fighting with my husband and making the caramels, imagine my disappointment when they were well overcooked and tasted like burnt toffee instead of melt-in-your-mouth-creamy caramels. (And the fact that they burned did not help my argument for why it would be worth driving many, many miles to get the magical Golden Syrup.)
Luckily the cake and frosting redeemed this months challenge. It is FABULOUS and I had absolutely no problems with the cake, frosting or the caramel syrup that you need to make prior to the actual cake.
The original instructions were a bit confusing since you really are allowed to cook-to-taste with the frosting, so I'll add my comments to the recipe with a different colored print. Oh, and I drizzled the remaining caramel syrup on some of the cupcakes---oh yeah, baby. Come to Mama...
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CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
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
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan. ( I made 20 cupcakes)
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Sift flour and baking powder
6. 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.)
7. 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.
8. 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. (My cupcakes baked for about 20 minutes at 350° and I didn't rotate the pan)
9. Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.
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CARAMEL SYRUP
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelizing process)
1. In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand.
2. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush.
3. Turn on heat to highest flame.
4. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.
5. 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. (I had an oven mitt on my hand and held the lid to a pan as a "shield" as I poured the water in. It worked beautifully.)
6. 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.
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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 (I didn't need this)
Kosher or sea salt to taste (I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon)
1. Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.
2. Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.
3. 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 (I only used cream and also vanilla, which I added here since it doesn't say when to add it!). 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.
