Baking: caramel cake

During our dating years, we dined in restaurants almost exclusively. Now we live in an area where restaurants are either chain establishments or average. Putting those two factors together, we have tired of dining out. Of course, we still do, sometimes weekly, but that leaves a lot of meals for us to prepare ourselves. Over the last few years, we have made it our mission to compile some menu options that we prefer, and I have recently acquainted myself with the kitchen and, specifically, the oven. Who knew the oven was capable of more than storage?

In addition to the working menu we have for our family, we have also committed to incorporating new meal ideas each week. While I would be redundant and eat the same meals over and over, Skip is more of a foodie. For the next few weeks, I thought I would share some of those discoveries here, probably on Thursdays.

First up, we'll talk about dessert and discuss the caramel cake with caramel frosting we made for Skip's birthday at the end of October.



Look tasty? Believe me, it was delicious and very comparable to any cake you could order at a bakery. By way of warning, this is a Martha Stewart recipe, but I knew I had some built in forgiveness/understanding in the event that it was a complete disaster. Also, I knew I could purchase some type of replacement, in a worst case scenario situation.

Here's the recipe:

Caramel cake
(Makes one 9-inch layer cake)

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan and rack
4 1/2 cups sifted cake flour, plus more for the pan
2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
7 large egg whites
Caramel Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9x2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper; butter the parchment and sides of the pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In another bowl, combine the milk and vanilla, and set aside.

2. Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it is creamy. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady strem; continue beating until the mixter is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk mixture and starting and ending with the flour. Be careful to avoid overbeating; set aside.

3. In a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten, and then fold in the remaining whites in 2 batches.

4. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean and the cakes spring back when pressed lightly in the center, about 40 minutes.

5. Transfer the pans to a wire rack; let cook 15 minutes. Brush the rack with butter. Loosen the sides of the cake with a paring knife; invert onto the greased rack. Reinvert the cake to prevent it from splitting; let cool completely.

6. Using a serrated knife, slide the domed tops off the cakes; discard. Place 1 layer cut side up, on a serving platter, spread a layer of caramel frosting on top. Stack the second layer, cut side down, on top; generously spread the top and sides of both cakes with frosting.

Caramel Frosting
(Makes about 5 cups)

5 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. Bring 4 cups sugar and the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, about 8 minutes; wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. Raise heat to high; gently swirl the pan (do not stir) until the caramel is a deep amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, heat the cream and remaining cup of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat; cover, and set aside.

3. As soon as the caramel is the desired color, add the hot cream mixture in a slow, steady stream, stirring to combine. Be careful, as the caramel may splatter when the hot cream is added. Stir in the vanilla, and continue stirring until the mixture no longer bubbles.

4. Prepare an ice-water bath. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer, and place in the ice bath, stirring until it is cool. Transfer the bowl to the mixer; using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed 5 minutes. With the machine running, gradually add the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating to incorporate fully. Let the frosting stand 20 minutes to thicken before using.

Delicious.

I would rate the difficult as a 6/10. Although the sweetness of this dessert is not for the faint at heart, I would prepare this again, although not too frequently for fear of immediately going into a sugar stupor.

Difficulty: 6/10
Taste rating: 10/10