Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Caramel cake and my bookshelf is back

Caramel cake / Bolo de caramelo

I have told you before about my love for simple cakes: they’re good on their own, with a cup of tea in the winter or a glass of cold milk in warm days, and with the help of some poached fruit and vanilla ice cream or whipped cream they can be transformed into delicious desserts.

This is a very simple cake – just as I like it – but the caramel glaze turns it into something even more delicious: it might not look stunning but it does taste great. You’ll be tempted to lick the spoon after pouring the glaze over the cake, but wait a couple of minutes – trust me on this. :D

Oh, and my bookshelf has been reinstated by Blogger – they said they’d analyze my case in two business days but it took them sixteen. Pretty close, huh? #not

Caramel cake
from the delicious Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen

Cake:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (or 210g all purpose flour + 40g corn starch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup (240ml) well-shaken buttermilk*

Caramel glaze:
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
½ cup (88g) packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan and line with a square of parchment paper, then butter parchment.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture may look curdled). Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.
Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles (I forgot to do that). Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely.

Glaze: bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil until glaze registers 98 to 100°C (210 to 212°F) on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.
Put rack with cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Serves 8-10 – I made the exact cake recipe above using a round 20cm (8in) cake pan with tall sides; it was my second time making this cake and the first time there was a lot of glaze left, so I halved the recipe above and the mixture took almost no time at all to get to the temperature described on the recipe

9 comments:

Nisa-mom said...

ooh..wow, another recipe to try.
Patricia, I really love every recipe you posting here - never failed, and always simple which is suit to my time :) last time I tried the almond cake - during a week already bake 2time - it was delicious, thou.. Thank you..

** I re-write the recipe back to my blog :)

Priya Suresh said...

Super spongy cake, droolworthy.

seeker said...

Hii, very delicious looking cake , i definitely will give it a try . just wanted to ask in caramel glaze what can be the substitute for corn syrup??
thnx

Laura (Tutti Dolci) said...

hThat caramel glaze looks luscious!

Nickki said...

This cake looks gorgeous. I love caramel.

Dina said...

this looks like an easy yet yummy cake.

Iwona said...

You have amazing blog :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

Thank you, Iwona! xx

Laura said...

LOVE cakes like this, so simple and yes so delicious. I like my desserts to be clear cut, I don't like too much going on. This is perfect.

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