Antique Caramel Cake

It’s been 3 weeks since my last post. Whoops.

I didn’t mean to go so long without posting anything. I thought that once actual classes ended I would have time, but then I wound up studying for finals about 7 or 8 hours each day. But now that finals are over and I’m done with school for the summer I will be posting a lot more often, hopefully.

Oh, incase any of y’all care, I passed my physics class with a C! I have never been more excited to have a C in my life. I was terrified I was going to fail that class and have to retake it, but no sir-y Bob, I will not have to take that class ever again!

In other news, I’m breaking the silence on this blog with a delicious caramel cake!

My mom adores anything with caramel in it, so I knew this would be the cake for her. This cake was so good that within 12 hours the cake was halfway gone

This cake has basically three components of caramel. The cake, with its sturdy crumb, tastes like a combination of brown sugar and liquid caramel. The frosting tastes like salted dark caramel, and then there is a caramel drizzle that goes on top. The caramel on top was store bought, but if you would like to go and make your own caramel to drizzle the top with, I say go for it!

The best part about this cake was the frosting. It has the perfect soft consistency and the flavor is phenomenal. I found myself cleaning the plate with my finger to get any frosting that had stuck to the plate.    

Antique Caramel Cake

Slightly adapted from Laura’s Sweet Spot

Makes one 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

Cake

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

½ cup + 2 tbsp. sugar

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1 egg + 1 egg white

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

 ½ cup buttermilk

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tbsp. distilled white vinegar

Frosting

¼ cup dark brown sugar

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temp and separated

1 ¼ oz. heavy cream

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

pinch of salt

1 cup powdered sugar

liquid caramel

Directions

To make the cake: preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch round pan with parchment paper. Grease bottom and sides of the pan with cooking spray.

Beat butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Add both sugars and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Scrapes the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the egg and egg white and beat until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk in two parts, starting and ending with the flour.

In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the white vinegar. Pour the mixture into the batter and mix to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting: in a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp. of butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 10-15 seconds. Remove from heat and whisk in the heavy cream. Pour the mixture into a separate bowl to cool.

Once the brown sugar mixture is almost cool, beat the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until creamy. Add the cream cheese and salt and continue to beat until smooth. Turn the mixer speed down to low and add the powdered sugar. Beat until the mixture feels loose. Refrigerate the frosting for 10-15 minutes in order to firm up

To assemble the cake: cut the completely cooled cake in half horizontally. Set the bottom of the cake on your serving plate, cut side up. Place a little less than half the frosting on the top of the cake on the plate. Smooth over the frosting. Place the top of the cake, cut side down, on top of the filling. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Drizzle liquid caramel on top. Refrigerate cake for 15 minute to set before serving. 

Roasted Almond Caramel Bars

I have so been getting into the holiday spirit! I have about three or four magazines filled with little tags marking things that I want to bake this Fall and I’ve got a few recipes saved to my favorites bar. Many of the recipes have to do with pumpkin; my goal is to make at least a few pumpkiny things before December 1^st (because that is when pumpkin season is over in my little world). Sadly, there has been a pumpkin shortage in my grocery store. I grabbed the second to last giant can of pumpkin, just out of panic that I wouldn‘t ever see the orange can again. I usually opt for the smaller can, but they aren’t selling them this year I don’t think, but even so, I don’t think finding ways to use the big can will be too tricky.

If you notice, though, this blog post is not pumpkin related; I’m saving my pumpkin for something truly special since I don’t want to waste it. No, these are almond caramel bars I found in Land O'Lakes Fall Recipe Collection. I actually found two similar recipes: this one and another using cashews in Taste of Home. I ended up using the Land O'Lakes recipe.

These bars are ok, not great, but ok. There were certain elements that I liked about them though. I really liked the cookie base, that was tasty and I could probably eat that all by itself. Then the almonds (which I crushed in the food processor, so I got a more fine grain than chunks) added a nice little crunch. The caramel topping oozed into the baked cookie which gave a pleasant chewy texture to the crunchy cookie bottom. All three of these components would have probably made the bar better than ok, but I have one thing to add: I’m sure I’m going to be smote for saying this, but I think the chocolate chips that were added on top ruined--no that’s too harsh, overwhelmed is a better word--the bar. Now I am a huge fan of chocolate; I love it in my cookies, in my milk, etc., but I just don’t think they had anything to add to this recipe, which is kind of disheartening if you think about it. Oh well, live and learn, right?

So what are you all baking this Fall? Are you going the pumpkin route, or has there been a shortage where you live too?

Roasted Almond Caramel Bars adapted from Land O'Lakes

Ingredients
¼ cup (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, soft
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup roasted, salted almonds, chopped
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch by 9 inch square baking pan and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and egg on medium speed. The mixture will seem really eggy, but don’t worry, after you add the other ingredients, it will all disappear. Turn the mixer’s speed down to low and slowly add in the flour and salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Add in the vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds.
3. Press the cookie dough mixture into the bottom of the pan. It will look like there is not enough dough to cover the bottom, but if are patient and keep spreading, the dough will completely cover the bottom. Place in the oven and back for about 11 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the chopped almonds and chocolate chips. Drizzle the caramel topping over the almonds and chocolate. Place the pan back into the oven to bake for another 5 or 6 minutes. Cool completely in the pan once it is done baking. After about an hour, it is ready to cut into bars.