Easy Caramel Cake

I've been daydreaming of Caramel Cake for weeks now since I've finished reading The Help.  (I find it a little strange that all of my food magazines have featured recipes for Minnie's Chocolate Pie.  Really?  If by the end of the book you have a hankering for a big slab of Minnie's Chocolate Pie there is really something wrong with you. )  My usual recipe for Caramel Cake is far too tedious and tempermental for me to attempt right now, so I turned to this one from Cooks Illustrated.  It's very good.  Be sure to pay attention to the method for making the cake- it's probably not what you're used to.  Or make your own favorite white cake and just use the recipe for frosting.

Oh, and Jack and Sam are doing great! 

Easy Caramel Cake

The Cake:
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened

The Frosting:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

For the cake layers:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
2. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla in large measuring cup.  With electric mixer on low speed, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.  Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-sized pieces remain.  Pour in half of buttermilk mixture and beat over medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Slowly add remaining buttermilk mixture to bowl and beat until incorporated, about 15 seconds.
3. Pour equal amounts of batter into prepared pans and bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks.  Cool completely, at least 1 hour.

For the frosting:

1. Heat 8 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, and salt in large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around perimeter of pan, 4 to 8 minutes.  Whisk in cream and cook until ring of bubbles reappears, about 1 more minute.  Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.
2. Transfer hot frosting mixture to bowl and, with electric mixer on low speed, gradually mix in confectioners' sugar until incorporated.  Increase speed to medium and beat until frosting is pale brown and just warm, about 5 minutes.  Add remaining butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Begin frosting the cake.

To assemble cake:

1. Place one cake layer on serving platter.  Spread 3/4 cup frosting over cake, then top with second cake layer.
2. Quickly spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.  You have a short window of oppurtunity to do this.  If you pour the piping hot frosting over the cake it's going to run right off.  If you wait too long for it to cool it will turn dull and grainy and begin to harden as you try to spread it.  Good luck.