Caramel Cake the Wrong Way

If you ever wanted to know what happens when you do everything the wrong way..then this is the post for you. This month's challenge was the Caramel Cake, given to us by Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater. It happens to be her signature cake so you know it's been tested and tried and has to be good. I tried to make caramels once and I failed. I tried again….and failed. The third time…totally failed again, so I thought here's where I can make caramels without making caramels. Right?! I admit…I've been a little preoccupied. Organizing for a move back to America has kinda been my focus (especially since I don't want to move), but I had no idea it was affecting me the way it is. I ALWAYS read a recipe before I attempt to make it. Not once but 3 times~just in case I misunderstand after the first read. Well apparently I retained absolutely nothing after I read. I'm talking NOTHING. It all started with the caramel syrup. I had just enough ingredients to make the challenge. We've used or given away all other food items for the move and we're not buying any replacement food. The syrup was tricky as I didn't want to burn it or I'd not have enough sugar for the cake. I cooked it forever at the highest flame and it would not caramelize. I couldn't figure it out. I finally got a light amber color out of it but didn't dare continue as I was afraid I would have day long sucker in my pan. It didn't taste like sugar syrup, but it didn't taste like caramel. Then I moved on to the cake. Shuna reminded us about how making this cake was about getting everything just right, from the fats to the acids. So of course I jump right in and combined everything out of order, even though I'm reading the recipe as I go. Here's my order…..Butter, sugar, salt, caramel syrup, eggs, vanilla and milk. HELLO!! What was I thinking? I then sifted the flour and baking powder into my sloppy, separated mess and prayed that it would somehow combine into a representation of cake batter. It did not look like great cake batter but it did look like batter so I threw it in the oven. I then went on to make the frosting. Thankfully I was able to pull that together even though my butter didn't brown. What's that you say? It didn't brown? How does butter not brown? I've browned it many times when I didn't want it to, and now when I want it to I can't. What's even more bizarre is that it tasted browned. So once I messed everything up and then combined it this is what I got.


Apparently the stars were aligned. YAY!!!! This is a fantastic cake. Yes it is sweet….but so worth the sugar high. I can only imagine how delicious it must be when the caramel flavor is a bit stronger. The man in my home said it was delicious…and I found the boy in my home eating with a fork digging out of the cake. That means it's REAL good. I would definitely not recommend making the cake out of order…I think it was definitely a fluke that it worked. Make sure when you make yours, you follow the directions. Thanks Shuna for a great recipe and taking the time to help everyone out with their questions. For the recipe go to http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/ and make sure you stop by Shuna's blog http://eggbeater.typepad.com/.


- Amber