Not so classic Caramel Cake...caramel 3 ways...

3 layers of tender vanilla cake, with a thick homemade caramel filling, frosted with a caramel-cream cheese buttercream, then drizzled with a thin caramel sauce...

Caramel cake has been on my to do list forever. It was one of those recipes I always earmarked in magazines and cookbooks anytime I came across it. There were always aspects of the recipes I loved and others I thought I would change, so I finally came up with my own version and it is more than I ever dreamed it would be. Let’s be clear, this is an extremely sweet cake and a little goes a long way. I made a 3 layer cake, using 3, 8 inch round cake pans, but this recipe can easily make 2 nine inch rounds. There are a lot of parts to this cake, many steps and it does take a some time, but don’t let that intimidate your or stop you from making it....it is ABSOLUTELY worth it.

Ingredients for the cake:

3 1/4 cups of AP Flour

2 cups of white sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup oil (neutral like canola or veggie)

1 1/2 cups of whole milk

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions for cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease 3 8x8 inch round cake pans or 2 9x9 inch cake rounds. 2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, oil, and sugar.

3. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture one at a time, mixing well between each one.

4. In another bowl mix together the flour with the baking powder and salt.

5. Add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, alternating between flour and milk. Mix until well blended.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans, tap the pans lightly against the counter to release any air bubbles and place pans in oven.

7. Bake the cake layers for about 25 minutes for 3 8-inch cake pans. Adjust baking times for larger pans. 9-inch should take a bit longer than the 8-inch.

8. Test with a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through, cool fully before filling and frosting. 9. Make filling and frosting as they cool.

Ingredients for Caramel Filling:

1 cup heavy cream

2 3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons AP flour

1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Caramel Frosting:

2/3 cup caramel filling for the cakes

1/2 cup Softened butter

4 ounces softened cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions for Caramel Filling:

1. In a small saucepan, on medium heat, pour in 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and let melt until golden. Don’t stir, swirl the pan to get the sugar to melt evenly. Don’t let it burn or get too dark.

2. At the same time in a medium saucepan place 2 1/2 cups of sugar, cream, flour, salt and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

3. When the sugar in the small saucepan is golden, add a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture to it and stir to combine. 4. Add that melted sugar mixture to the bigger pot with the rest of the cream mixture, stir to combine and let it simmer on medium for 10-15 minutes. 5. After 10-15 minutes take off the heat and add the butter. Stir to combine. 6. Pour the caramel into the bowl of a stand mixer or another heatproof bowl if using a hand mixer and mix on medium for about 15-20 minutes then let rest for 15 minutes. The mixture may look like the oil is separating a little, that’s ok. 7. Once the caramel has rested, place 2/3 cup of the caramel for the frosting into another bowl and set that bowl aside.

8. Fill your cake layers. The filling will be thick and take a little patience to spread out. Spread as evenly between your layers as possible. Then make frosting.

Instructions for the Caramel Frosting:

1. In a medium bowl mix together either by hand using a whisk or by mixer, the cream cheese, butter and the portion of caramel filling you set aside. 2. Blend them together until mixed thoroughly and light in color and no lumps remain.

3. Taste it! If it needs more sugar add some powdered sugar, if it needs a little salt add salt. This is where you can cater the flavor to your likes. Want it more creamy? Add more softened cream cheese. I found the way I made it to be perfect for my taste, but feel free to adjust it to make it your own.

4. This recipe makes enough to lightly frost 3 cake layers. As you can see from my pictures there are some naked spots. That’s ok! The cake is so sweet you don’t want a ton of frosting. If you do you can stretch the frosting by adding more butter or cream cheese and you can add some of the caramel drizzle (recipe below) to amp up the caramel flavor.

Caramel Drizzle....this part is optional but it really does make the cake pretty. You may want to double this recipe and keep some in a jar in the fridge... it is so worth it....

Ingredients for Drizzle:

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 tablespoon corn syrup (optional but helps keep the sauce smooth and the sugar from crystallizing)

2 tablespoons of water

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional but salted caramel is so good)

Instructions for the drizzle:

1. Add the sugar, corn syrup if using and water to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

2. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil and STOP stirring. Swirl the pan around gently. If you didn’t use the corn syrup, you may want to brush down the inside of the pan with a wet silicone brush to keep the sugar from forming crystals. 3. Swirl the pan until the sugar mixture turns golden/Amber. The darker the gold the richer the caramel taste will be but don’t go too far. It goes from caramel to burned in a snap. 4. Remove the pan from the heat when the mixture is amber colored and stir in the cream, butter and salt if using, until the butter is melted in and the caramel

is smooth. Be cautious because the mixture will bubble up and sputter when the cream is added. Just stir it down carefully. 5. Let it cool down about 20 minutes before pouring into a glass jar. You want the drizzle to be room temp when pouring on to the cake so that the frosting doesn’t melt. 6. Place cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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