Caramel Cake

What the heck? I can't figure out this new Blogger photo thingy - I don't have enough patience anymore!

In any case, in honor of reading The Help for book club I made a caramel cake. Honestly, the cake was sort of dry but the frosting was AWESOME. It was super easy to make (I'm not the best person for frosting a cake either) but I'd rather eat the Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix cake. So I am doing a single post for each so that way you don't have to read the cake recipe for the frosting too.


Caramel Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep: 45 minutes, Chill: 4 hours or overnight, Bake: 35 to 40 minutes.

Yield: Makes 1 (9-inch) 2-layer cake

Ingredients

• 3 1/2  cups  sifted cake flour
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1 3/4  cups  granulated sugar
• 1 3/4  cups  light brown sugar, divided
• 1 1/4  cups  butter, softened and divided
• 6  eggs
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  cup  milk
• 1/2  cup  evaporated milk

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans; line with lightly greased parchment or wax paper.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Place 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, and 1 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and 1 cup milk alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating at low speed after each addition. Pour into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire rack. Place 1 layer on a cake plate.

3. Combine 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cook (without stirring) until a candy thermometer registers 238°. Transfer to a heat-resistant bowl, and beat 3 minutes or until thickened and easy to spread. Quickly spread filling over cake layer on plate. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill 15 minutes or until set.

4. Spread a thin layer of Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting over filling. Top with second layer. Frost cake. Chill 20 minutes or until frosting sets, then cover and chill 4 hours or overnight. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Kathryn Conrad, MyRecipes, OCTOBER 2005