Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce

I sometimes think I have way too much fun playing with food in the kitchen, but then I just keep on playing... 

I make and bake a cake for our local Legion for their cake raffle every other week.  And realized the other day, I've been doing this for almost 2 years.
2 years of cakes, every other week, well, almost every other week.  I did miss a couple of weeks along the way.  We've had hurricanes interrupt us, and power outages and I was gone a couple of the weeks, but still...
That's almost 50 cakes or cupcakes and some dessert bars. (49 at last count).
I know how many because I put them on Instagram, and I counted them.   (I'm on Instagram as Sidsseapalmcooking if you want to follow along with the fun).
I've done some themed cakes, some fun cakes and even made a cake to mark Hurricane Michael.

Best part of making cakes, I don't have to repeat any.  I just let my imagination go.   I do a repeat on my chocolate cake though, but never finish it off the same way. 

Here's how I did it this time.
I always frost the bottom of the cake, fewer crumbs that way.

While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting and the caramel sauce.   
After letting the cakes cool along with the caramel sauce.  Poke a few holes in the cake.  Then pipe a dam around the edge of the cake.   This does two things, first it keeps the caramel where it belongs, in the middle, but second, when you place the second layer on top, the frosting will ooze out a little, and you don't have as great a chance of big gaps, that will need to be filled in with frosting.

Add half the caramel sauce to the middle and smooth out towards the sides, being careful not to breach the frosting dam.

After smoothing out the caramel, pile rings of frosting right on top of the caramel, carefully.  Smooth it out gently, being careful not to disturb the caramel sauce.

Place the second layer on top and press down lightly, and put a thin layer of frosting on the sides and top.  Place in fridge for an hour or into the freezer for 30 minutes.  This is the crumb layer. 
Then after it has cooled down, add another layer of frosting, and pipe leaves around the edge of the top.  This will be the dam for the remainder of the caramel. make sure all the leaves are connected,  I actually piped a second layer around.  Place cake back in fridge or freezer to cool for a few minutes if you can.  My cake was still fairly cool, so I just added the remaining caramel sauce, and smoothed it out very gently all the way to the edges of the leaves. 

I then piped some more leaves in the center, making a pseudo flower shape and finally piped leaves around the base.  Put it back into the fridge for another hour. 

Putting this cake together wasn't all that hard, but letting it cool and rest in between each step did seem to be important.  

Yield: 12 ServingsAuthor: Sidsel Munkholm

Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce

prep time: 10 minscook time: 35 minstotal time: 45 mins

This rich cake is made a touch more decadent with the addition of the caramel sauce, not only on the top, but in between the layers as well.

ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 sticks butter (1 cup) at room temperature
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 packets hot chocolate drink mix
• 2 cups AP flour (if using cake flour, omit the potato or corn starch)
• 1/3 cup Potato or Corn Starch
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 4 tablespoons Cocoa Powder, milk or dark
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups milk

Caramel Sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup homemade caramels (recipe here)

Frosting - 4 cups of your favorite Chocolate Frosting.   I use this one. From King Arthur.

instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8 inch pans, or put out 36 cupcake liners. Cream the room temperature butter and sugars together until the sugar has mostly dissolved into the butter. This takes a few minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each egg. Whisk all the dry ingredients together, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer, mix well, then add one third of the milk, alternate the dry and wet ingredients, finishing off with the dry. Pour one third of the batter into each of the three ( 8") cake pans, and bake for 30 minutes, checking at the 25 minute mark to see if they're done, using a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the pans. If it comes out clean, they're done, if not, bake an additional 5 minutes or so. If making cupcakes, bake for 15-20 minutes, checking for doneness after 15 minutes. Cool and frost with your favorite frosting.

You can also bake this in two 9" cake pans, but you will need to increase the baking time by about 7-9 minutes.  

Caramel Sauce

Heat the cream until hot to the touch, add the caramels and let stand to soften.  Whisk together, keeping them warm, over a low heat.  Set aside and let cool until ready to frost cake. You want it to be fluid, but not enough to run off of the cake. 

Created using The Recipes Generator

Tapas for December 2018

I'm late, so very late, but here is the roundup of the dishes that were brought and enjoyed last month at our mostly monthly Tapas Time Night.

I wasn't the hostess, but my friend Jill graciously stepped up to the plate and hosted the gathering.  There was a Grinch Christmas gift exchange which is always fun, and hilarity ensued with gifts being stolen and exchanged later on.

I wish I could have sampled, just a bite of everything but if I had, well, let me just say it was not possible.   The food that was brought and shared was incredible as always.  
There were lots of appetizers. 
This antipasto plate

 Shrimp and sauce

Santa and his pineapple

 Baked Brie

 This lovely spicy spread

Mozzarella and tomatoes

I made some Gravlax and brought it, and the picture is way too blurry for me to really show it, but the basket behind was full of some baguette's I'd baked from scratch. 

This isn't the pretty presentation I had for Tapas, but rather so you can see how good the Gravlax looked.

I also made some Scottish Sausage Rolls and discovered that Trader Joe's Puff pastry is really made with butter.  It was good.

There was some mulled wine to go along with it all.

These lovely roasted potatoes

 Roasted Parsnips and Carrots

 Shrimp Gumbo

 Rolls to get with the sliced turkey and rare roast beef

 close up of the sliced turkey

close up of the sliced beef

Some lovely scallops

 Sausage Balls

 Pea Salad

 Bacon Wrapped Crackers

 Rolls and sauce

 for the pulled pork

 We had biscuits

 and Potato Salad

 Mac and Cheese with sausage

 A lovely Corn Casserole

Chicken Wings

And then there were the desserts...

I swear if you go home from one of our gatherings, hungry, that's your problem.  There's always a bunch of great foods brought and enjoyed. 
And the company isn't bad either.


Happy New Year and I'm hoping that 2019 is a bright and wonder filled year for all.

Wild Card or my Favorite Recipe for 2018

First off   
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
I hope I didn't yell too loud, but I'm excited for this next year and all the great stuff that will happen. 

 

This is the last of the series and is the 'Wild Card' which means I can highlight any post from this past year.

I had fun this past year, I published my second cookbook, Nibbles and Bites, which is chockful of appetizers and finger foods and asked a few bloggers if they'd like to join me in a virtual Tapas Time Party featuring a recipe or two from the book.   You can find it on Amazon as well as some selected bookstores and merchants.   It's available as a paperback, or an ebook.  You can even read it on Kindle Unlimited.  Nothing a shameless plug. 

They very graciously said yes, and we held the party, online.  And that was so much fun, seeing what other bloggers made and posted about.   I appreciate them all.

And then I started thinking about which was my favorite recipe from this past year and I had trouble with that.
I baked a lot of cakes this past year, I got to make 2 wedding cakes, which is nerve wracking but both brides liked their cakes.   Or at least they said they did.  I had fun making a Batman themed groom's cake as well.

As I said I made a bunch of cakes for the Legion cake raffle, every other week actually.    I made this awesome Candied Orange and Candied Ginger Cake,  and the following

Triangle Delights,

 and all I can say is, it's a good thing that I didn't keep them in my house.  They would have put me into a sugar coma, but it might have been worth it.  They were pretty popular as well.

That's my look back at 2018.
Thanks Sarah for giving me an excuse to look back at 2018  of Fantastical Sharing to look back and pick out the best of the year.

Here's hoping that 2019 is a great and wonder-filled year for everyone. 
Stop on by next Monday for First Monday Favorites to see what recipes other bloggers picked as their favorite from December.   

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