Traditional Southern Caramel Cake Recipes

TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375'F Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, line each with a parchment paper round. Spray again over parchment rounds. Set pans aside.
• 2. Beat butter in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar to butter mixture and continue to beat until fluffy.
• 3. Beat syrup into the butter mixture until completely incorporated. Add one egg at a time into batter, completely incorporating each before adding the next.
• 4. In another large mixing bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder together.
• 5. In a measuring cup pour out milk. Mix vanilla extract into the milk.
• 6. Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating between flour and milk mixture; beginning and ending with flour mixture until both the flour and milk mixtures are complete incorporated into batter.
• 7. Divide batter evenly between pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes our barely clean.
• 8. Cool cake for 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto wire wrack to finish cooling.
• 9. For Frosting: 1- in a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter until nutty brown. Be careful not to scorch. Immediately pour butter into a large glass mixing bowl. Let butter cool for 15-20 minutes. 2- With an electric mixer, mix in vanilla and salt. 3- Gradually add confectioner's sugar until completely incorporated. You will have a clumpy mess at this point. 4- With your mixer on low gradually at cream. Add more cream as needed to get desirable creamy frosting texture, but don't over do it, or you'll have a mess.
• 10. Assembly: Level off any doming on the cooled caramel cakes. Place the first cake on a cake platter and frost the top of it. Stack the second on the first and frost entire cake as desired. I chose to garnish with extra caramel syrup.

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two (9-inch) cake pans. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
• Add eggs, one at a time, and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add about a third of the flour and mix on low speed until combined. Add about half of the buttermilk and continue to mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue to add flour and buttermilk in the same way, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Add vanilla and combine fully, making sure not to overmix.
• Divide batter evenly between pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning the cakes onto wire racks to cool completely.
• As the cake bakes, make the icing: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium and let the mixture bubble for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Carefully and slowly add the buttermilk (it will bubble up), stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove from heat and add salt. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar, mixing until smooth, then add vanilla extract and mix to combine. The icing should look glossy and pour easily from the bowl.
• While the icing is still warm, spread about 1 cup icing on one cake, then top with the second cake. Use the rest of the icing on the top and sides of the cake. The icing will set up as it cools. If the icing starts to harden, microwave the icing in 10-second intervals until smooth. (You can also make the icing up to 3 to 5 days in advance, and keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.) Serve immediately.

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the cake ingredients.
• Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans , lining the bottom with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides as this can prevent the cake from rising properly. If not using a springform pan, you can insert strips of parchment paper along the sides (lightly greasing the pan helps the paper stick). Position a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven and heat to 350 F.
• In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed, beat the butter until creamy and a little airy, about 2 minutes.
• Slowly add the granulated sugar and cream for 5 to 6 minutes, scraping the sides as needed, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
• Beat in the vanilla extract, then add the flour blend and buttermilk alternating the two ingredients in increments, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until thoroughly combined but do not overmix.
• Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it equally in each and spreading the batter evenly.
• Bake, rotating the pans half way through baking time, until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the pans to a rack. Continue to cool the cake while you make the frosting.
• Gather the frosting ingredients.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the light and dark brown sugar, butter, buttermilk, cream, salt, and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture comes to a soft boil.
• Once the mixture foams and has bubbles around the edges, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. The caramel should not reach more than 225 F on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from the heat and let cool, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Beat the frosting until it reaches a thick but spreadable consistency and begins to lose its glossiness. By hand with a whisk or spatula, this may take 10 minutes; in a stand mixer, it may only take 5 minutes.
• While the frosting is semi-fluid, begin frosting the cake. Start by pouring about a quarter of the frosting over the bottom cake layer (right-side-up) and spreading it out evenly.
• Add the top cake layer, pour about half of the remaining frosting on top, and spread it out evenly. Smooth out any drips that form on the sides.
• Begin with a light layer of frosting all the way around the cake to seal in the crumb, then build up the side with more frosting as it thickens. If you need to smooth it out or the frosting becomes sticky, dip the spatula into a bowl of hot water.
• Let the cake rest for 1 to 2 hours to allow the frosting to set completely before serving.