For November the Daring Bakers assignment was a caramel cake with caramel frosting.  The catch was the perfect, homemade caramel syrup.

The rules were that we could add what we wanted but we had to use the caramel cake and caramel frosting.  I decided to use the caramel frosting between the layers and cover the cake with an Earl Grey & Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache.

Nice.  Very…Very…Nice.

Since I chose to make it as one of the something like eight desserts we had for Thanksgiving there was some left, and we were amazed to find that the flavor had developed beautifully overnight and it was more complex and intense the next day.  I would recommend making it ahead of time because of this.

The cake is dense and moist with the texture of poundcake.  I baked it in a springform pan and sliced it into three layers with no problems.I then drizzled each cut side with caramel syrup.  After that I added the frosting between the layers and then the ganache.

The ganache was created by using 2 teaspoons of loose Twinings Earl Grey tea in 3/4 cup of heavy cream.  I then brought it just under a boil and removed from heat, allowing it to steep for 5 minutes.  I strained the tea out and reheated the cream to a simmer.  I then added 8 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate, stirring until smooth.  I poured it over the filled and stacked cake, smoothing over the top and sides.  Since I had a little caramel left I drizzled that over the top and sides.

The Recipe:

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 ( I used 1/2 teaspoon)

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

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

(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon)

The source for the  Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting is courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), as published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/).  This is Shuna Fish Lydon’s signature caramel cake…and it is fabulous!

Host was Dolores of Culinary Curiosity with co-hosts, Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/) and  Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/)to help with the gluten free changes.

And for more Daring Bakers check out the Daring Bakers Blog Roll!

Images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights