Deliciously Easy Caramel Lover’s Cake
Who can resist a well-cooked caramel? You do, of course, need the perfect balance between the sweetness and slight bitterness of the cooked sugar. This caramel cake recipe is the perfect combination of ingredients to produce a cake that has that characteristic caramel taste, which is brought out by a touch of savory, from the sugar and buttermilk. The cake batter is thick and smooth and the cake itself melts easily in the mouth. This is complemented by the thick, sugary frosting.
INGREDIENTS:
For the cake:
2 C. + 2 Tbsp All purpose flour
¼ tsp. Salt
2 C. Granulated sugar
2 Sticks of butter unsalted
1 C. Water
1 tsp. Baking soda
½ C. Buttermilk
2 Large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
For the frosting:
3 C. Granulated sugar
1 Stick butter
1 C. Heavy whipping cream
Pinch salt
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine the 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour, ¼ tsp salt and 2 cups of granulated sugar.
In a saucepan on the stove over medium high heat, bring 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of water to a boil.
Pour the mixture into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients, and beat until smooth.
Add the baking soda, buttermilk, 2 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the mixing bowl, and beat on high until well combined.
Pour the batter evenly between two well greased 9 inch cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
Set on a baking rack to cool completely before turning out of the tins.
Place 2 ½ cups of sugar into a saucepan with 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 stick of butter and a pinch of salt. Bring just a boil.
At the same time, place ½ cup of sugar into a skillet over medium high heat. Do not stir the skillet, instead, shake the skillet every so often to keep the sugar from burning. Once the sugar is a amber color, pour it into the mixture in the saucepan just as it begins to boil.
Bring the mixture to 232 degrees, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract for the frosting.
Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes.
Place the frosting mixture into a mixing bowl, and beat on high until a thick frosting has formed. This can take about 15-20 minutes.
Spread some frosting between the two layers of cake, and along the top of the cake before serving