Maryann, Fruit & Caramel = Delish!

So let's talk about the cake. I made the syrup on Saturday night (without any problems) and made the cake on Sunday. The syrup had a yummy caramel taste to it. I had about 3 tablespoons of it left in the pot after I transferred the rest to a glass jar, so I decided to make steamed milk with it...I added a dash of vanilla plus a combination of heavy cream and fat free milk...Boy was that delish.

I have lots of cake pans. After a bit of contemplation, I decided on the MaryAnn pan...It's quite forgiving.

The batter was quite easy to make. At first it seemed to curdle. Once all of the flour was incorporated the batter looked fine. I was really surprised by how little the batter raised. I provided pictures of the batter before and after baking the cake. The cake stuck a bit to the pan once it was cooked. I probably should have waited a little longer before flipping the pan. I think that I'll start a "walk around the block rule" before flipping. You can see a few flaws on one of the pictures.

I quartered the frosting recipe. This worked out perfect for the MaryAnn well. I made just enough frosting to cover the inperfections in the well. I decorated the cake 'til this point on Sunday night. The frosting was slightly soft, so I refrigerated the cake until 5 am on Monday morning.

I thought that the frosting was delish. I really loved the brown butter taste. I was very generous with the sea salt. I used flaked sea salt from Zijautenejo (sp???) that partially smashed with a rolling pin. I made the frosting a bit on the thin side. It was definitely much thinner than a Wilton "thin".

On Monday morning, I added the fruit (blueberries, rasperries and strawberries) to the frosted well of the MaryAnn cake. I drizzled lots of the caramel syrup on top of the fruit. This probably added to my out focus pictures. As you can see from my pictures, the fruit is quite shiny.

I took the cake to work. My coworkers went bonkers over it. No complaints of sweetness. I noticed that once the berries were added to the cake, it lost it's caramel flavor. Some of my coworkers were shocked when I told them that it was a caramel cake.

I was told that the cake was very pretty but I attribute those compliments to the pan. My husband told me that this was the best cake that I have ever made...I don't think so, but I am glad that he does.

I think that the base of the cake was quite moist but the sides/walls were a little dry...I have had this happen with other cakes that I have baked in the MaryAnn pan.

I would definitely make this cake to take to a party or if I had company. I would also use the same pan and fruits on top.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this challenge.

Kind Regards,

Angelique