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Caramel Celebration Cake

Source of Recipe

From "The Southern Entertainer's Cookbook" by Courtney Whitmore


Recipe Introduction

"My mother always made birthdays a big to-do in our family, with balloons hanging from the chandelier and the most gorgeous birthday cakes on crystal cake stands. This caramel cake is certainly celebration-worthy!"

List of Ingredients

◦ 4 cups cake flour
◦ 1 teaspoon baking soda
◦ 2 teaspoons baking powder
◦ 1 teaspoon salt
◦ 2 � cups sugar
◦ � cup vegetable oil
◦ 1 cup butter
◦ 1 � tablespoons vanilla extract
◦ 3 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
◦ 2 � cups buttermilk


Recipe

Preheat oven to 325� F. Prepare three 8-inch round cake pans by spraying with nonstick baking spray and lining with parchment paper cut rounds to fit bottom of cake pan.

Sift cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl; set aside. With a stand mixer, cream together sugar, vegetable oil, butter, and vanilla. Beat well at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat the three whole eggs in, one at a time, then add in the two egg yolks.

Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Do not overmix the batter. Batter will be thick. Evenly divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool 10 minutes before turning onto wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 10 to 12 servings



❧ Caramel Icing:

◦ � cup butter
◦ 1 cup brown sugar
◦ � cup milk
◦ 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
◦ � teaspoon vanilla extract
◦ 1 pinch salt

Melt butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Using a handheld mixer helps to smooth the icing.

Add vanilla and salt. Add more powdered sugar for a thicker icing, if desired. As icing cools, it will set, so work quickly to pour and then spread icing over cake.

This icing also works well for a sheet cake. If icing begins to set up, warm slightly in the microwave to make icing more spreadable.




✰ Note: This will be a thin layer of icing on the cake. If you want a thick layer, double the icing recipe. For layer cakes, lay sheets of wax paper around the cake as you spread on the icing to catch any overflow.

✰ Tip: Caramel icing is long known to be difficult, even for most accomplished bakers. The key is to work quickly, and spread the icing before it sets up.