Chocolate Caramel Cake
a) Baker by Nature Recipe (PDF File saved)
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
This recipe calls for vegetable oil, but you can use an
equal amount of canola oil or melted coconut oil in
its place. I do not recommend substituting oil with
butter.
For best results, make sure your eggs, egg yolks, sour
cream, and milk have all come to room temperature
before you begin baking.
When you measure your flour, be sure you’re not
packing it into the measuring cup. Packed flour will
yield a dense and dry cake.
The cake layers should all be baked on the middle
rack of your oven. If there’s not enough room in your
oven to bake them all in an even row at once, simply
bake them in two batches.
For the frosting, you’ll want to make sure your
butter is VERY soft before creaming it.
The chocolate cakes should be completely cool
before adding the frosting and salted caramel.
The assembly is a two part process: you’ll place one cake level on a large plate, top it with a thin layer of frosting,
then add the caramel, then add another cake level and repeat. Once you’ve added the final cake level you’ll want to
leave the top bare and place the cake in the fridge to set for one hour. Once it’s set, you can finish frosting.
Home-Made Caramel Sauce (PDF File saved)
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
You’re going to want to use a pot with very tall sides,
because when you add the cream to the caramel it will
bubble up furiously!
Speaking of the pot, be sure to use a high-quality heavy
metal pot. Most cheap cookware is very thin and heats
unevenly, so avoid using them for caramel. I also don’t
recommend non-stick pans since high-heat can damage
them. I love using this Kitchenaid saucepan.
Once you’ve added the sugar and water to the pan, you’ll
want to whisk them together until combined, then avoid
stirring the rest of the time. Instead, occasionally, and
gently, tilt the pan side-to-side to help the ingredients
cook evenly and avoid burning. This no-stir method helps
avoid sugar crystals from forming.
The caramel takes time to develop, so be patient while it
boils. You want it to reach a deep golden brown color
before removing it from the heat. Removing it too soon
can cause gritty caramel.
Once you’ve removed your caramel from the heat you
want to add your cream right away! Make sure you’ve
placed it in a spouted measuring cupso you can slowly
add it in. As mentioned earlier, the mixture will
aggressively bubble up, but as long as you used a tall sided pan, it won’t overflow. Be sure to whisk the mixture together
well after adding the cream.
Because the caramel is so hot when it comes off the stove, it will look very thin. However once it cools it will
thicken up quite a bit. If you’d like to return the caramel to a liquid form, simple reheat it in the microwave or on the
stove top.
Be sure to use quality sea salt. I recommend Maldon because it’s flaky, flavorful, and easy to find!
Finally, if you burn your caramel… there’s unfortunately no method of saving it. Just toss it and start over again.
Other tips:
I’ve learned that adding 1 tablespoon of corn syrup to the sugar and water
mixture prevents it from crystallizing. I use this hack whenever I make
caramel.
Update: tried a second batch and cooked it significantly longer after adding
butter (~17 min) until it really reached the golden brown color and it came
out perfectly. Big hit! I learned to go by color, not time!
t sounds like your stove top heat may run low, so I would try increasing the
heat slightly next time. It’s very important that the sugar has completely
dissolved before adding the butter. And as I mention in the post, you must be
patient as it boils and give the caramel color time to evolve.
