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Caramel Cake

Posted on 08/26/2010 by Maura

(Pictures taken from my iPhone–sorry)!

For Christmas, I received the book The Help, which if you haven’t read, you must.  The book is about the help in Mississippi during the 60s, many of whom cooked for the white families they worked for.  Caramel cake was often being made in the fictitious kitchens of these homes, and I swear when I read the book I could taste it even though I had never tried it.

A southern cake, caramel cake has almost a pound cake consistency with a sweet, delicious caramel draping over the sides and top.  I saw it for sale at the farmer’s market a few weeks back and I bought it, dying to try it.  I got to Tim’s, eagerly opened the lid and took my first bite.  Bliss.  Tim, on the other hand, took a bite and said it was “OK.”  Fastfoward an hour, after I had gone home, showered, and came back, and almost the entire cake was finished!  He said he changed his mind…

After Tim begging me to make it at home for weeks, I tried this recipe.  I liked this version much better than the one from the farmer’s market, however Tim wished the caramel sunk into the cake more.  To cause this to happen, next time I will poke holes in the cake and pour the icing on top of the cake while it is on a plate with high sides so the cake really sits in the caramel.

If you’ve never tried this, you will love it, and if you love caramel cake, you must try this version!

Caramel Cake

Ingredients

For cake:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup buttermilk (shake well)

For caramel glaze:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Equipment: a candy thermometer

Instructions

Make cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in middle. Butter an 8-inch square or round cake pan and set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy.  Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Turn the mixer to low and beat in the buttermilk until just combined.  The mixture may look curdled, but that’s OK.  Add flour mixture in three increments, only mixing until each addition is incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan and invert onto the cooling rack.  Let the cake cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make glaze:

Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 1-1/2-quart heavy saucepan (make sure candy thermometer will reach the caramel to read the temperature) over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.

Put rack with cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

About Maura

I have a secret: I cannot do anything in moderation. I always have to take things to the extreme, at the expense of my own and my family's sanity and often times my dad’s checkbook. When I started taking horseback riding lessons, I insisted on having a pony. When I ice skated for probably the second time, I made my mom buy me ice skates that were never again worn. When I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I made my parents turn one of the rooms in the basement into a school room, stocked with an overhead projector, pull-down maps and a real, classroom-sized chalkboard and white board. When I discovered cooking I bossed my older sister around in the kitchen for an entire day, forcing her to make dozens of recipes with me against her will and then had her do all the dishes (sorry Cait). And, when I discovered food blogs I bought the biggest binder I could find, printed out 250 recipes in one day and laminated and categorized each one. My dad was not happy about the ink situation. So, what does this tell you about me? For one, you can trust that every recipe I post is more than delicious and has been meticulously tried and tested for you. Also, that I’m an anal freak. Enjoy! View all posts by Maura → This entry was posted in Cakes, Dessert, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink. ← Grilled Tuscan Lemon Chicken Spinach and Artichoke Dip →