Saturday, November 29, 2008

Daring Bakers-November 2008 Challenge~Caramel Cake

November's challenge was Shuna Fish Lydon's Caramel Cake. I was planning to skip the challenge because 1)I am not a fan of caramel and 2) I did not think that I would have enough time to bake a cake. But one night I really wanted to bake something, so I checked out the recipe and it seemed simpler than I thought, so I gave it a shot.

Oh my goodness, this cake is AMAZING! I'm glad that I did this challenge. I've never made a cake that tasted this good! The texture was light and soft, and it was not a sickly caramel which I expected. I am not sure if I made it correctly, but it had a hint of salt to it.

Here's the picture of the caramel syrup. The instructions were correct...when adding the water to stop the process, where long sleeves or quickly move away from the hot bubbling syrup!
Making the dough. The recipe called for "milk" and since we only drink skim milk, I ended up using it instead. Even without the extra fat of 2% or whole milk, the texture of the cake was wonderful!
I decided to make cupcakes instead of a large round cake. Cupcakes are so much cuter (and easier to share). Here's a picture of the frosted cupcakes. I brought them into lab to share with my labmates, but I think Mike ended up eating about 4 of them.

NAME OF COOKBOOK (OR WHERE RECIPE CAME FROM): http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/
AUTHOR OF ORIGINAL RECIPE: Shuna Fish Lydon
HOSTESS'/HOSTS FOR THE MONTH: Dolores from "Chronicles of Culinary Curiosity", Alex from "Blondie and Brownie", and Jenny of "Foray into Food." For all those gluten-free bakers out there, thanks to Natalie of "Gluten-a-Go-Go" for the gluten-free adaptation.

10 comments:

Diana said...

Your cupcakes came out so cute! I really liked the texture of the cake (although I used 1/4 cup less sugar so it may have been different). It was so moist. I've never browned butter before and loved the flavor it gave the frosting. Eric ate most of my cake too!

Sara said...

looks great! i used skim milk too, but it didn't occur to me it might make a difference. glad i didn't think about it, i was too busy worrying about the caramel!

Anonymous said...

I wish I could taste your cupcakes, because I didn't like my cake at all. Your cupcakes look like I could buy them right out of a bakery. Great job.

Gretchen Noelle said...

Adorable cupcakes! Glad you did enjoy this challenge in the end!

Anonymous said...

Sounds great with the skim milk and hint of salt!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Cute cupcakes! I've also used skim milk, that's what I allways have arround.

Chou said...

I really liked the cake. But the combo of all of them was soooo sweet! How was Thanksgiving? Missed you!!!

Joie de vivre said...

How fun. Your cupcakes are just adorable. I'm glad they turned out well for you.

Lauren said...

Ooo, your cupcakes look amazing! Love the sprinkles on top!

Anonymous said...

The cupcakes made for great fun, didn't they? Yours look great!!