Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

It is easy to get wrapped up in time; it is as common a topic as the weather is. Perhaps it’s a sign that I am getting old. It seems I find myself talking about how fast time goes these days. I don’t remember talking like that when I was in my 20’s.

Now I say things like “I can’t believe it’s already the middle of January! Gosh o’Golly this year is already zipping by!”

Maybe I don’t say it exactly like that it’s probably more like “What is the date today? Are you fucking kidding me? Shit I was supposed to do this or that yesterday! Gawd where does the time go?”

Time isn't the only thing that makes me feel old at 32, it’s when it’s my friend’s birthday and she’s only turning 28!

It’s okay my younger friends keep me young! I made this cake for my friend Kellie’s birthday today and we had a lovely morning eating cake with tea and coffee!

This is the cake I made:

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

225g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

3 heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder, extra for dusting

4 large eggs

200g self-rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

150g caramel sauce, extra for drizzling on top

1 tsp sea salt flakes

300g double cream

Heat the oven to 180C, grease or line 2 7in (18cm) round cake tins. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, and baking powder before adding in the eggs and beating until just combined. Spoon into the tins and gently level the batter with a spatula inside the tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. While the cake is cooling mix the sea salt flakes in the caramel sauce. Then whip up the cream until soft peaks form. Once the cakes are cool, spread the caramel sauce on top of one layer and pipe the whipped cream on top of that before placing the other layer on top. Dust with cocoa powder and drizzle some caramel sauce on top! Enjoy!

notes: Recipe adapted from Jamie’s Monster Bake Sale pamphlet for Comic Relief 2011. Sometimes people don’t like cake, they do exist (I know I was as shocked as you) and if you know one of these people try thisshortbread I made for my cake-hating friend!

Belated Birthday Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

It’s this time of year that I use momentum when it comes to my blog. If you look at past years December always has the least amount of posts. I am forcing myself right now to write this post because just like in the past I am finding it hard to motivate myself to blog. It’s not because I’m busy, but because my priorities change.

One of these priorities is the amount of baking I do for birthdays! This month is full of birthdays. The people I tend to bake for have favorites and so have already been blogged, but it leaves me little room for other baking aka new things to blog!

My father-in-law this year didn't have a preference so he left it up to me. I choose to make him chocolate cupcakes, as I know he has a love for chocolate cake!

These particular cupcakes are a very soft crumbly cake with a kick of coffee flavor that enhances the chocolate flavor. The frosting is also one of the best frosting's I have made in a while; even if I messed up the Salted Caramel.

It’s messed up because I didn't let the caramel caramelize enough. It starts looking a bit amber and I whipped it off the stove because I didn't want it to burn. I ended up with light lack luster caramel. It was still really tasty! The frosting had a nice vanilla/caramel taste that complimented the chocolate cake very well.

Chocolate Cupcakes

185g unsalted butter

185g dark chocolate

1 ½ tablespoon coffee granules

130ml of water

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

100ml buttermilk

110g self-rising flour

110g plain flour

45g cocoa powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

300g golden caster sugar

Heat the oven fan to 170C. Melt the butter, chocolate, coffee granules, and water in a saucepan. Stirring occasionally until completely melted then take it off the heat.

Mix the eggs, oil, and butter milk together in the bowl of a free standing mixer or large bowl.

Gradually add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture.

Add both the flours, cocoa powder, bicarb, and sugar and beat until just combined.

Using an ice cream scoop fill 24 paper cases in a cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake in the heated oven for 20 minutes or until the skewer test comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes before frosting them….

Salted Caramel Frosting

300g unsalted butter, softened

500g icing sugar

½ tablespoon of fine sea salt

salted caramel (make it (below) or buy it)

Beat the butter until it’s soft, light, and fluffy. Then add in half of the icing sugar and the salt, beat until combined before adding the rest of the icing sugar. Lastly add in about half of the salted caramel sauce and beat until well combined. Fill a piping bag or just spread on top of each cupcake and enjoy! Or you could drizzle with some of the left over salted caramel or sprinkles or something.

Salted Caramel

250ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

230g caster sugar

6 tbsp water

1-2 tsp sea salt flakes

In a small saucepan heat the cream and vanilla together, don’t boil. While that is warming, place the sugar and water into a larger saucepan. Bring to a boil, once it’s started to boil give it at least 5 minutes or until it will be a deep amber color. It can burn quite quickly so keep an eye on it. (This is where I always seem to mess up, I always seem to take it off the heat too soon.) Once it’s ready take it off the heat and carefully add some of the vanilla cream. Whisk it quickly and keep adding the cream little by little until all combined. If it gets lumpy just whisk as fast as you can and if that fails place it back on a low heat whisking all the time. Once it’s cooled down add the salt.
Save any leftovers in a clean/sterilized jar for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. It would be great on top of ice cream!

Question(s): 

1. Am I the only one who is nervous about burning caramel? 

2. What do you like for your birthday treat? 

I'd love to hear your answers below in the comment section! 

notes: The recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma. Next I will be making some birthday brownies for a co-worker so stay tuned!

Everything is Not as it Seems Red Velvet Cupcakes!!

The title of this post is due to a book I recently read: Cupcakes at Carrington’s by Alexandra Brown was chosen as this month’s Cupcake Book Club book. Kelly at American Cupcake in London runs the Cupcake Book Club, this is the 3rd time I've joined in.

Cupcakes at Carrington’s is Alexandra Brown’s first novel and the first of at least 3 “at Carrington” titles. There is a very clever story line with lots of twists, everything was not as it seemed. It’s the reason I named these cupcakes ‘Everything is Not as it Seems Red Velvet Cupcakes.’ Well, that and the main character, Georgie chooses red velvet cupcakes as her go to comfort food. There are a few ups and downs throughout the story that warrant Georgie visiting her best friend and owner of the café for a much needed sugar fix.

How could I make anything else, but red velvet cupcakes? I didn't just want to make a plain red velvet cupcake. So, to make them not as they seemed I filled them with Belgian Salted Caramels, there were 4, milk, dark, and white chocolates all filled with salted caramel.

I usually reach for my Hummingbird Bakery book when a basic/classic recipe is needed, as they have never failed me. But when I reached up I grabbed Lily Vanilli's Sweet Tooth. There was definitely a subtle difference between the recipes, but a good one. I was pleasantly surprised in the lightness of the cake. They were spongy and moreish. Is that word still being used?

Anyhow…I frosted them with a vanilla buttercream instead of the usual cream cheese frosting, as that is how they are sold at Carrington’s Café. Then to emphasis the salted caramel, I made my own salted caramel sauce to use as a drizzle.

notes: Kelly @ American Cupcake in London; CupcakeBook Club; follow those links to join in as there is still time or to see what everyone else has made! to buy Cupcakes at Carrington’s: Amazon UK & USA (Kindle); Alexandra Brown; Lily Vanilli’s Sweet Tooth: Amazon UK & USA (Kindle); for Salted Caramel Sauce from Mary at Bare feet in the Kitchen