Cinnamon Spiced Caramel Cake Recipes

CARAMEL SPICE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 (9 inch) pans. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with 1 1/2 buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in pecans. Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• To make the frosting: In a large bowl, combine butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla and about 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Beat well, then gradually beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar alternately with 1/4 cup buttermilk. Beat until smooth and creamy and spread on cake.

MINI CARAMEL CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160 C, Gas 3, 300 F. Grease and line your baking tin. See here for how to line. or use cupcake liners.
• Get all your ingredients ready, i.e sieve the flour, and add the salt and baking powder to the flour together with the cinnamon and the nutmeg.
• Start with making the cake batter by creaming the butter and sugar until a pale light colour. Add the dulce de leche and combine.
• Slowly add the beaten eggs to the mixer, on a low speed setting, a bit at a time. If the mixture starts to curdle or split, add a spoonful of your sieved flour, keep on adding the eggs, and a bit of flour if necessary, until all the eggs are added.
• Add half the milk with half of the flour, keeping the mixer on a slow speed. Once combined, add the remaining milk and gently fold in the remaining flour until combined.
• Transfer the cake mixture to the greased and lined loaf tin or mini cake pan.
• Place in the oven for 1 hr if using a loaf pan or 15 - 20 minutes for mini cakes.
• *** Please do test if the cake is done by using a skewer and poke it in the middle to see that it comes out clean. Every oven is different and cook times may vary a little.
• When the cake (s) is done, take it out of the oven and leave in the cake tin until cool enough to transfer to a cooling rack. It is also nice to drizzle some of the dulce de leche over the top!
• Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

CARAMEL-CINNAMON CREPE CAKE

Steps:

• For the caramels: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
• Reserve 1/2 cup caramels for serving. Put 6 of the remaining caramels on the prepared baking sheet and bake until bubbly and slightly dark around the edges, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheet, then crush into a fine powder in a food processor; set aside.
• For the filling: Combine the remaining caramels with the milk, salt and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to just below a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl until smooth. While continually whisking, slowly pour in about half of the milk mixture until combined. Transfer the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened like pudding, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface, and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours to overnight.
• For the crepes: Puree the milk, flour, granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and eggs in a blender on high speed until well mixed. Let the batter rest in the blender for 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate up to 24 hours.
• Before cooking, re-blend the batter on high speed for 30 seconds. Wipe 1/2 teaspoon butter on a medium crepe pan or 8-inch nonstick skillet in a very thin layer with a paper towel. Heat the pan over medium until hot.
• Ladle 3 tablespoons batter into the pan. Working quickly off the heat, swirl and shake the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Return to the heat and cook the crepe, reducing the heat if it's browning too quickly, until the edges are light golden, about 2 minutes. Carefully loosen the crepe from the pan and flip it with a spatula. Cook until a few brown spots appear, 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, wiping the pan with butter each time. Stack the crepes on the plate as you go (you should have about 20). Let them cool for 10 minutes before filling.
• Finish the filling: Beat the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Stir one-quarter of the cream mixture into the caramel filling, then gently fold in the rest.
• Put 1 crepe on a platter and top with a 1/4 cup filling, spreading it to the edge. Repeat, stacking the remaining crepes and filling, and ending with a crepe. Refrigerate overnight.
• Microwave the reserved 1/2 cup caramels, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted, about 1 minute. Top the cake with whipped cream, drizzle with the melted caramel and sprinkle with the caramel powder.

CINNAMON SPICE CAKE WITH FIG BUTTERCREAM, WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE AND BUTTERMILK CARAMEL

Steps:

• For the cinnamon spice cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time until smooth and light. Stir together the buttermilk and vanilla in a separate small bowl. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice in a large bowl. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture in thirds to the mixer bowl, blending well after each addition.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• For the fig buttercream: In a clean bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Mix in the fig butter. Add the buttermilk if needed to thin to a spreading consistency.
• For the buttermilk caramel: Combine the granulated sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup and baking soda in a LARGE pot. Do not use a saucepan; it may boil over. Bring the ingredients to a boil and reduce the heat to low but still bubbling. Cook, stirring very frequently, until golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Let cool.
• For the white chocolate ganache: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until just simmering. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth and melted. Refrigerate until cooled completely, about 20 minutes. Transfer the ganache to a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until smooth.
• To assemble the cake: Slice each cake layer in half horizontally. Place a layer on a plate or cake stand and cover with fig buttercream. Repeat with 2 more layers and the buttercream. Put the final cake layer on top, then frost the top and sides with the white chocolate ganache. Pour the buttermilk caramel over the top of the cake to drizzle down. Serve with more caramel sauce if desired.

SPRINKLE & SPICE CARAMEL FAULT-LINE CAKE

Steps:

• Put half the milk and half the golden syrup in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir until combined, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Or, heat the mixture in a heatproof jug in the microwave for 1 min. Meanwhile, oil two 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins, and line the bases with baking parchment (if the tins are less than 4cm deep, line the sides with a tall ring of baking parchment, too). Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• For the sponges, you'll need to use half the ingredients for the first batch of cakes, then the remaining ingredients for another batch, to make four sponges in total. For the first batch, tip 250g flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 250g sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 2 pinches of ground cloves into a large bowl with ¼ tsp fine salt. Whisk together, breaking up any large lumps of sugar to create an even, sandy mixture.
• Whisk together 150ml of the oil, 200ml buttermilk, 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla in a large jug. Add the cooled milk and syrup mixture, and whisk again. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth. Divide between the tins. Bake for 25-30 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of each sponge comes out clean.
• Leave the sponges to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then invert onto a wire rack (so the bases become the tops), peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely. Clean, oil and line the tins again as described in step 1, and repeat steps 1-3 to make two more sponges. Leave all four sponges to cool completely. Once cooled, the sponges can be wrapped and stored in a cool place for up to three days, or frozen for up to two months.
• To make the buttercream icing, put the butter and half the icing sugar in a large bowl. Mash roughly with a spatula, then beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale. Add the remaining sugar, the vanilla, and the milk to loosen the mixture to a spreadable consistency, if needed. Beat again until smooth. Transfer half the buttercream to a second bowl and set aside.
• Working with the first bowl of of buttercream, spread a few tablespoons in the centre of a 20cm cake board or stand, and put one of the sponges on top, upside-down, so the flat base is on top. Spread over a quarter of the buttercream, followed by a third of the caramel. Top with another sponge, then another layer of buttercream and caramel, then repeat the process with a third sponge. Place the final sponge on top, upside-down, so you have a flat surface. Cover the entire cake in a very thin layer of the buttercream, using what remains from the first bowl - don't worry about making it neat, as any crumbs trapped in the icing will be covered in the final coat. Chill the cake for 30 mins until the icing is firm.