Ain’t nobody ever gonna love you the way I try to do
Who’ll take all your pain, Honey, your heartache, too?
And if you need me, you know
That I’ll always be around if you ever want me
Come on and cry, cry baby, cry baby, cry baby,
Oh daddy, like you always saying to do.
“Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin
Salt and caramel, that is sooooo last year…but it’s damn good. Again, another solid Betty Crocker (remember this?) recipe for the chocolate cake portion. The salted caramel frosting idea came from a Chowhound daily recipe that I received for salted caramel cupcakes. The cake was moist, the frosting had a delicious caramel richness with just a touch of salt on the finish. This recipe may not be for everyone, but if you are an adventurous baker, I suggest giving it a shot.
Chocolate Cake (from Betty Crocker)
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups cake flour (or 2 ¼ all purpose flour)
1 2/3 cups sugar
¾ cup butter
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 ¼ cups water
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans and lightly flour
3. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients
4. With a hand mixer, beat all of the ingredients on high for 3 minutes
5. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans
6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean
7. Cool for ten minutes and then remove from the pans and let cool completely
Salted Caramel Frosting
Ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ sticks of butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, mix water and granulated sugar, turn heat to medium-high
2. Bring mix to a boil and do not stir
3. Let the mixture cook for about 5-7 minutes, DO NOT STIR
4. When the mixture becomes a dark amber color, remove from heat and slowly add cream and vanilla, stir with a wooden spoon until completely combined
5. Set aside until cool
6. Combine butter and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer beat until light and fluffy
7. Add powdered sugar, mix until completely combined
8. Add caramel to the butter mixture, beat until well mixed
9. Cover and refrigerate until stiff, about 45 minutes
Adapted from http://www.chow.com/recipes/12100
To make cake:
1. Lay down one cake round, top with about 1 cup of frosting
2. Lay second cake on top of frosting, cover the cake with remaining frosting
8 Comments
August 17, 2009 at 2:50 pm
yes but I think I’d just eat the bowl of frosting… after the bowl of cake batter
August 19, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Foodhoe: I like your style!
August 18, 2009 at 3:32 am
That frosting does look incredible.
The only thing about making a big delicious cake is that you end up eating all of it.
August 19, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Moolay: I know, awesome, everybody loves to eat a whole cake in one sitting, right?
August 18, 2009 at 11:45 am
This looks divine. The salted caramel frosting is a great idea. And I love Betty Crocker for cakes!
August 19, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hungry Dog: Right on! I love BC!
September 6, 2009 at 9:14 am
I’ve look at this frosting recipe on numerous websites but nowhere do i see any measurement on the caramel to be added?????
HELP
September 6, 2009 at 9:28 am
Robin: that’s because the recipe calls for you to make your own caramel, the steps in the directions that calls for letting the sugar turn and an amber color and adding cream is creating caramel! I would say volume-wise it’s about 1/2 cup-ish