Well this was an exciting month for me, I got to co-host this challenge with Dolores and Alex. I'd tried it a few times before for my Wilton classes so I knew it was a winner!The recipes were a signature caramel cake from Shuna Fish Lydon (aka eggbeater), and an additional bonus challenge of Alice Medrich’s Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels. I cant say no to caramels, so I did both!
We made a caramel sauce, and then incorporated it into a cake and the frosting. I found this to be a totally delicious cake, really moist and not too fatty either. I'm biased as I adore caramel, but I really liked it!
The cake is fairly straightforward, its lovely and moist from the caramel and from the milk that is added.
The frosting is very interesting, it is made from brown butter. I found that even my fine strainer let flecks of the browned butter through, but I liked the brown flecks in the icing.
This time, I decided to add some apple accents, I made apple chips as a decoration(see gourmet, I used cinnamon instead of cumin), and mixed some of the frosting with my apple butter for the filling. I think it worked really well. I then took some of the caramel syrup and boiled up with some cream to make the caramel syrup decoration. I also discovered that trying to write with caramel is very tricky as you get little hard bits of caramel getting stuck in the piping tip.
Many of the Daring Bakers mentioned that this recipe was too sweet for them, I knew that I'd made it before, but it got me second guessing myself and worrying that everyone would hate it. Turns out I didn't need to worry, the birthday girl loved it and everyone else seemed to as well. Its a lovely moist cake, we all knew to take a small slice, but it was very well received. Another reminder that the daring bakers are a very diverse bunch, and maybe the recipe changes depending on your location and ingredients, not to mention everyone interpreting the caramel instructions differently. Funnily enough Shuna recently commented on this in a post.
I actually made 1 1/2 recipes so I could make some babycakes too, they were made in little petits fours cases, but they came away from the cakes so I removed them. I topped them with a little apple butter/frosting mixture and an apple chip or two.
I then got to work on the caramels. A vanilla bean was simmered in some heavy cream, which was added to a boiling mixture of sugar and golden syrup. The mix was then boiled until it reached 265f and then poured into a pan to cool. They were cut into squares and then I had to very quickly wrap them before I ate them all, they were totally delicious!! I found them to be even more delicious than my usual fleur de sel caramels. Not sure if it was the golden syrup or the real vanilla bean. Mmmm
RECIPES:CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING Shuna Fish Lydon
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350F
Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream them until light and fluffy.
Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl.
Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
Sift flour and baking powder.
Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}
Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan.
Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.
Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.
CARAMEL SYRUP
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand.
Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush.
Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.
When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.
Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}
Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.
CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste
Cook butter until brown.
Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.
Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon)
GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels
Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert
Ingredients:
1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, purchased or ground in a coffee or spice grinders, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened
Equipment:
9-inch square baking pan (I used a silicone one so no fussing around was required)
Candy thermometer
Procedure: Place the baking pan on a cookie sheet.
Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges.
Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.
Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.)
Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more.
Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F.
Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm. Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.
