“Woah” I said to myself when I saw this month’s Daring Bakers challenge recipe. I was scared on several levels, firstly that it was so long and secondly that it involved so much butter and sugar (half a kilo of icing sugar just in the icing!). Not something I am usually scared of admittedly but the steps involved had me a little scared.
Gorgeous golden liquid caramel
After reading through the recipe twice I broke it down into things that could be made ahead of time and the various steps in order to make the cake without minimal drama. I would make the caramel syrup one day, then the buttercream the next and then the cake so that it was completely fresh. I decided that I wouldn’t bother with making the caramels as I don’t have a sugar thermometer.
“HA!” I hear you say. Nice plan but of course once the baking bug bit me, I made the whole thing one afternoon driving myself slightly batty with the steps involved. For not only did I do the 3 steps, when I finished I felt it was a little lacking in decoration so I did some spun toffee and thus completed my own version of a 4 Step program. Baking rehab if you will.
With Daring Bakers I knew we could make variations and I wasn’t under any delusions, I knew the Caramel et Sel (caramel and salt) version would be popular, the saltiness heightening the flavour of the caramel but I also liked the idea of adding cardamom to the mix. I have eaten some lovely cakes flavoured with cardamon both here and overseas and one of my favourite pancake recipes, the Norwegian pancake, is flavoured by cardamon. The Fleur de Sel was one that I bought from my recent trip to Paris, from a little supermarket in the Île St Louis.
I know Fleur de Sel de Guérande is supposed to be the best but Camargue is what they had and it is very good indeed. Fleur de sel is a slightly damp, hand harvested salt (although some say Camargue is machine harvested) and is said to be quite simply the finest salt to finish your dish with. Raking the fine top layer of salt was a job entrusted only to women called paludiers who delicately rake the top layer of fine salt that makes it way from the Atlantic Ocean to the marshes of France.
The only thing I’d suggest is that it is indeed a very sweet cake so splitting it and layering it in the centre would have rendered it a little too sweet for my taste (but if you have a sweet tooth, you’d definitely want to go ahead and layer it). So to make it a bit prettier I would suggest baking it in a smaller tin (say 8 inches) to give it that lovely height that you would get from layering.
The browned butter buttercream
The cake itself, is gorgeously moist and eggy despite only having 2 eggs in it. What was a real revelation to me was the browned butter icing. I’ve had browned butter (or burnt butter or beurre noisette) before in pasta sauce and it was gorgeously nutty but I never thought to make an icing out of it. It’s an incredible alternative to traditional Buttercream. Something you simply must try at least once-if you like buttercream I insist on it 
. I’m not even a big cake eater, a small slice or a couple of forkfuls will do me (after slaving over a cake, it almost hurts to cut it up and eat it) but I kept cutting slice after slice of this cake. It’s that good.
Caramel Cake with Caramelised Butter Frosting
- 10 Tablespoons/150grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/4 Cups caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
- 2 each eggs, at room temperature
- splash vanilla extract
- 2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F
2. Butter one tall (4-5cms/2 – 2.5 inch deep) 23cm/9-inch cake pan (I would suggest using a slightly smaller tin eg 8 inch).
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.
4. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
5. Sift flour and baking powder.
6. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}
7. Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.
Cake batter
8. Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.
Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator if placed in an airtight container.
Caramel Syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup water (for “stopping” the caramelization process)
- a little Fleur de sel for sprinkling over
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.
When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.
Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}
Sprinkle a little Fleur de Sel to finish it
Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.
Caramelised Butter Frosting
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
- Fleur de Sel to taste
Browning butter over a medium – high heat will cause some bubbling just before it’s ready
Golden brown butter with a gorgeously heady, nutty aroma
Cook butter until brown (be careful to not let it burn too much as it will become bitter). Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.
Sieving the browned butter to get rid of the sediment of solids
Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner’s sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner’s sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.
Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light
(recipes above courtesy of Shauna Fish Lydon)
Link to the Shuna’s website is:
http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/
To the author’s name: Shuna Fish Lydon
The blog host is Delores at http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/
Co-Hosts:
Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo) at (http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/
Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/).
Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/) for gluten-free assistance.
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41 Comments | Add your own
Looks so gorgeous!!
wow this cake looks so nice. I like how you decorated it. so simple and so chic
I m not a big fan of buttercream but this burnt butter is interesting. wish to try it. Great photos 
It’s gorgeous, Lorraine! I love the addition of cardamom. (I toyed with adding nutmeg, but bottled it in the end.) The browned butter frosting was an eye-opener to me, too, but it just goes to show how blind I can be. Nigella has the same method for frosting in HTBADG and I thought I knew that book backwards!
The styling is fab, too. I could happily dive right in for another slice. Yum
Hi!
Congrats for this excellent photos and for sure it must taste wonderful with those caramel everywhere!
Perhaps you can eat some small slices, it wouldn’t my case, I can eat most of it..the unique problem will be the intense exercise to lose the extra weight
Gera .:. sweetsfoods
One look at the caramel syrup atop your cake and my mouth was watering – delicious!!! I have always wanted to get my hands on Fleur de Sel, as so many food bloggers have written about how wonderful it is. I’m hitting the gourmet shops!
Such a pretty cake! i love the decoration! Well done!
Cheers,
Rosa
AND it looks THAT good!!
Gosh ((grabs at throat)) I feel the culinary air is so thin up here at these ‘levels’ or should I say “browned buttercreamed layers”. What with paludiers raking the finest layers and de Guérande being better than Camargue. O.O I consider myself to be a kind-of-switched-on-foodie with exellent spelling skills, but I find myself scrolling up and down these kind of posts to even repeat words and terms like “thermometer”.
Kidding!
Daring Bakers? How about “Intimidating regular bakers challenge”
But seriously, a *very beautiful* cake and I applaud all of your hard work. All that butter is (even visually) irresistable.
I wonder what other ‘treasures’ you’ve bought home from overseas that we are yet to see? MMmmm..
Also
at “Excellent spelling skills” being spelled as *Exellent*.. HAHAHA.. couldn’t have planned that one! I blame my freshened-up gel nails. I should have said “a bit shorter thanks”.. 
Oh my cavities are throbbing just by looking at it! The cake looks gorgeous as usual Lorraine – but to me caramel spells trouble.
WOOOWWW There is soooo much for me to learn haha! Thx very informative and that cake looks gorgeous ^^! Can I have some morrow
?
Your cake looks so elegent. Love the ribbon around it!
The browned butter in the icing was a definite click in my head. Too delicious.
Wow, Lorraine, your cake is awesome !
Ooo special salt! Love it! Especially that second photo. I usually like baking in stages as well, but sometimes it’s so satisfying to get it all done in one go
Lovely cake and beautiful pictures as well.
your cake looks lovely lorraine! this is my first time experimenting with browned butter too. delicious isn’t it?
your photos reflect this cake so well. it looks fantastic!
A lovely cake and I love the deep colour of your caramel.
Cardamom is my favourite spice, but I resisted using it this once.:)
Cardamom with caramel. Why didn’t I think of that? Brilliant.
Thank you for baking with us this month.
What a gorgeous cake and gorgeous pictures!
Very nice job on the cake with great photos too!
Hi Lisa-Thankyou so much! What a pity you had to miss out this month
Hi snooky doodle-Thanks so much. I wish I had done a bit better job decorating it but I tried to get it done in time to give to someone. The burnt butter frosting it to die for!
Hi Angela-LOL Oh really? You see I’m the same and I had no idea she had a browned butter icing too! Oops! Thankyou so much!
Hi Gera-Ah yes this is true, if only I could stop at a small slice. I think the clothes were feeling a bit tight that week
Hi Cakelaw-It was the thing on the very top of my list when going to Paris-and to think I almost forgot, I bought it on the last day! Thankyou so much!
Hi Rosa-Thankyou so much! And thanks for hosting last month’s challenge
Hi Maria-Yeah once the bug bites, it’s hard to resist! I am so glad that I joined DB-it is hard but I like that and in a perverse way I look forward to it. Although I am lucky I missed the opera cake, that scared me!
Hehe about the spelling, it’s always the way isn’t it!
Hi Karen-It’s sweet but maybe I have an extreme sweet tooth but it wasn’t too sweet for me. I ate so much of this at one go
Hi Ffichiban-Thankyou so much
Ohh no, it’s all gone! Sorry!
Hi megan-Thank you so much! I am a sucker for ribbons around cakes
Hi rainbowbrown-Yeah it’s like another world opened up for me when I tasted the browned butter icing. Talk about heavenly!
Hi Foodie Froggy-Why thankyou so much for your kind words!
Hi Y-Yes I can definitely taste the difference between salts now (I didn’t think there was much of a difference). It is nice to “get it over and done with” in a way.
Hi jo-Thankyou so much!
Hi Cyn-Yes gorgeous indeed! How did I live until this age and never try it in a frosting?
Hi Aran-Thankyou so much!
Hi Aparna-Thankyou, I was worried it wasn’t deep amber enough (I could guess what deep amber is but not know for sure). My husband adored the cardamon as did I although without it would have been nice too
Hi Delores-Thankyou so much for hosting! It was such a fantastic recipe
Hi clumbsycookie -Thankyou very much Rita!
Gorgeous cake, stunning pictures & beautiful read through. I enjoyed every minute of it…& was on a sugar high by the end! I loved the brown butter frosting & found it addictive indeed!
Hi Deeba-Thankyou so much! Yours was amazing I have to say! Yes that browned butter frosting should definitely have an addiction warning
I also thought the frosting was interesting in a good way. Will be tweaking it to make it less sweet but now I know to use brown butter more in baked stuff. Cake looks great!
Beautiful cake – and I love the idea of using cardamom to add another dimension to the flavors.
OMG this just looks too delicious. Strange using salt but I’ve made a Sweet & Salty Cake that I saw on Martha Stewart a while back. Different but very tasty. Will be trying the above recipe too
Wow your cake looks so professional! Puts mine to shame! Love your work
The first time I’d even heard of an ‘Opera Cake’ was at the Lindt cafe in Sydney.. my daughter ordered it.
I also like the fact that DB seem to really challenge peeps. Not for wusses! I randomly come across other peoples versions of your DB entries and your entries are always more superior. I would have loved your version of Opera Cake.. I’m sure you would have done a great job. I mean if you can make a carousel cake.. you can do anything.
Hi Jude-Thanks! Should I confess that I thought it was sweet but not too sweet?
Or will that reveal my extreme sweet tooth?
Hi Regina-Thankyou so much! I love cardamon in cakes when used judiciously so this way I could control it and my husband loved it in the end-phew!
Hi Vanessa-Was it the caramel sweet and salty cake? My husband made that for me for my birthday. This one is different, and I have to say the recipe is better (haha not the chef, he did a great job).
Hi Jenny-Yours looks great! And your first DB challenge too no less. Welcome (from a second monther)
Hi Maria-It just looks so hard to do with the super thin layers. Aww thanks but there are some seriously beautiful cakes out there, ones that make me want to pack up my cake in a cakebox and sit on it
oh, drizzling caramel, how you taunt me…
nicely done.
Wow yours looks gorgeous. Excellent job, yummmmmm!!
Your cake is absolutely beautiful! Well done!
Your cake looks wonderful, so pretty! I love the spun toffee swirl you made for the top. So much for being a afraid!
Love all you terrific photos, too!
~ingrid
Hi grace-Thankyou! If only I had a steadier hand!
Hi Natalie-Thankyou so much
Hi Barbara-Thanks, you are too kind!
I hope you’re enjoying Australia!
Hi ingrid-Hehe you know I made two spun toffee tops, just in case one didn’t turn out. I actually wanted more of a dome shaped nest but don’t quite have the skill to pull that off. Thankyou!
Your caramel cardamom cake is so pretty. I love the swirls of caramel and the photos are excellent.
Hi Lynne-Thankyou so much! I was worried that no-one would see the caramel swirls so thanks for noticing!
My mom does brown butter frosting on her cashew cookies, they are like heaven!
I made this cake yesterday and it was the best thing i have ever tasted in my life…. not to mention extremely addictive. Thank you so much for the great recipe. It is fantastic.
Cardamom not Cardamon….right?!
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[...] ages ago but it had been over a year since I made something with it. It wasn’t until the Daring Bakers Caramel Cake that I fell in love with it again. And I fell fast. After the Daring Bakers cake, I made Ricotta [...]
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