Charlotte's salted caramel cake
The extra effort of burning sugar is so worth it for this delicious cake in which the flavour of caramel runs right through the cake itself, as well as in the frosting.
Makes one 8” cake
Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter380g caster sugar4 large eggs480g plain flour1tbsp baking powder½ tsp salt2tsp caramel essence or 1tsp vanilla extract250ml full fat milk
For the caramel syrup
225g caster sugar250ml boiling water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4
Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan to heat your sugar until it goes brown and treacly, a little darker than golden syrup, with no lumps. Stir every now and then but do not leave the room while the sugar is heating as it will go from nicely caramelised to burnt and ruined very quickly!
Add the boiling water very carefully as the pan will spit. Try pouring the water down the side of the saucepan and wear an oven glove if you are worried.
Stir the water into the syrup for around a minute until the two have completely combined. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool. You can make the syrup a day or two in advance if you like and store in an airtight container until needed.
To make the cake, begin by creaming the butter and the sugar until you have a pale and creamy mixture. This process should take around 5 minutes in a freestanding mixer and allowing a little time to mix thoroughly will set you up for a wonderfully light cake.
Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure that each one is fully incorporated before adding the next
Add 125ml of your caramel syrup to the mixture and beat briefly until smooth and golden. You will need the remaining syrup for your salted caramel buttercream.
Sift your flour, baking powder and salt into another bowl and measure your milk and caramel essence into a jug. Fold in one third of your dry ingredients into the cake mixture followed by one half of your milk and essence. Add another third of your dry ingredients, followed by your remaining milk. Remember to stir well after each addition to ensure that all ingredients are incorporated. Finish off with the final third of your dry ingredients.
Divide your cake mixture between two prepared sandwich tins and bake for 35-45 minutes. The cake is done when it has risen beautifully and a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack
From Deliciously Decorated by Charlotte White