Baking School In-Depth: Caramel Cake
Caramel cake is a beloved gem in Southern culture, treasured for its luscious layers of soft, buttery cake embraced by a decadent caramel icing that firms up at room temperature, creating a delicate crunch with every bite. The icing comes together easily thanks to the deep flavor of brown sugar, already infused with the essence of caramel. Achieve the perfect texture with just a touch of milk, butter, and cream while salt and vanilla provide balance and complexity. If you’re anxious about the cake being overly sweet, the magic of caramel is its trace of bitterness, adding a captivating depth that makes each bite simply irresistible.
Be sure to join us for Baking School with Williams Sonoma on Monday, October 7, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT. Brian Hart Hoffman will take you step-by-step through making this Southern classic. This is one baking event you won’t want to miss!
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson!
INGREDIENT BREAKDOWN
Excellent recipes require wonderful ingredients. Here’s how our recipes’ ingredients contribute to making the best caramel cake.
UNSALTED BUTTER: Butter is essential for the texture and richness of the cake and icing. Opt for European-style butter with a higher fat content for the best results. Using unsalted butter allows precise control over the saltiness, ensuring the perfect balance of flavors in your baking.
GRANULATED SUGAR: Granulated sugar serves more than just sweetness in the cake. When creamed with butter and oil, it incorporates air into the batter, contributing to a lighter texture. Its hygroscopic properties allow it to absorb moisture from the environment, which helps the cake retain moisture after baking.
NEUTRAL OIL: This cake combines butter and oil for a flavorful, moist, and tender crumb. Oil effortlessly blends into the batter, and because of its eternal liquid state, it helps keep the cake moist even after it cools. Neutral oils that are great for baking include vegetable, canola, grapeseed, and sunflower oils.
EGGS: Eggs in a cake act as natural leavening agents, incorporating air into the batter for a light, fluffy texture. They also provide structural support through protein coagulation, ensuring the cake maintains its shape. The rich fats and emulsifiers in egg yolks enhance the cake’s flavor and contribute a creamy texture, making the cake more indulgent.
VANILLA EXTRACT: Adding a dash of vanilla extract to this cake not only enhances its flavor but also adds a delightful depth. Its aromatic qualities extend to the cooked caramel icing, infusing it with a lovely aroma that enriches the cake’s overall allure.
ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR: To achieve the fine crumb texture of this rich cake, it’s important to use a flour that balances between softness and structure. All-purpose wheat flour serves as the perfect solution, with a protein content ranging from 10% to 12%. This protein content is ideal for creating a tender cake that still holds it shape when layering.
BAKING POWDER: Most baking powders are classified as double-acting, which means they undergo two distinct reactions to leaven baked goods. The first reaction happens quickly when the baking powder mixes with liquid in the batter. This initial reaction releases carbon dioxide bubbles, causing immediate rising. The second reaction occurs gradually as the cake bakes, ensuring continued leavening and helping to achieve the desired texture and structure.
KOSHER SALT: Kosher salt has a pure, clean flavor due to its lack of iodine and minerals. Its flaky texture, compared to granulated salt, ensures more consistent distribution when incorporated into cake batter and icing. This even distribution enhances the overall flavor balance and texture of the cake, making it a preferred choice for baking.
WHOLE BUTTERMILK: This acidic dairy product adds a tangy flavor to baked goods. Make sure you use whole buttermilk over low-fat or fat-free varieties, as the natural fats in whole buttermilk contribute to a richer cake texture by tenderizing the crumb.
LIGHT BROWN SUGAR: Light brown sugar plays a dual role in providing both sweetness and caramel flavor to the icing. During cooking, the molasses content in brown sugar undergoes caramelization, intensifying its rich flavor profile. This process is integral to creating the distinctive caramel taste that defines this classic Southern icing.
WHOLE MILK: Whole milk serves as the solvent for dissolving the brown sugar and helps regulate its temperature when cooking the icing. The proteins and fats in milk also contribute to the icing’s smooth texture and richness.
HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM: Heavy whipping cream plays a critical role in enhancing the richness and creaminess of caramel icing. Its high fat content contributes to a luxurious texture and helps stabilize the icing, ensuring a silky-smooth finish.
CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR: Confectioners’ sugar is finely ground granulated sugar mixed with a small amount of cornstarch to prevent clumping. Its fine texture allows it to dissolve quickly when added to icing, providing sweetness and aiding in thickening. The cornstarch in confectioners’ sugar also helps stabilize the icing, ensuring it maintains a smooth consistency even after cooling.
Caramel Layer Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Work quickly, and don’t fuss too much with the icing as it sets. It will feather, become crusty, and pull away from the cake layers. If the icing has set too much before you pour it, reheat it in the top of a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, heat on high in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring well between each, until icing is smooth and pourable.
Cooked Caramel Icing
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Note: Do not use a glass stand mixer bowl; it cannot withstand the high temperature of the caramel icing.
MAKING THE CAKE LAYERS
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and oil at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Make sure your butter is softened correctly for this step, not too cold or warm. Softened butter should have some resistance when you gently press it, but it should still keep its shape. As the butter, sugar, and oil are beaten together, the mixture aerates or creates lots of tiny bubbles, contributing to the cake’s volume. The more bubbles you have in your network, the lighter in texture your cake will be and the finer the crumb. Don’t skip the step where you scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. It ensures that the butter, sugar, and oil blend cohesively.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Divide batter among prepared pans (about 600 grams each), smoothing tops with a small offset spatula. Tap pans on a kitchen towel-lined counter several times to settle batter and release any air bubbles; smooth tops again, if necessary.
Mixing the dry ingredients together in a large bowl ensures they’re evenly distributed, preventing clumps of baking powder or salt pockets that could affect the cake’s taste and texture. Alternating additions of dry ingredients with buttermilk ensures even mixing without overworking the batter, which helps maintain a smooth and consistent texture.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
CRAFTING THE CARAMEL ICING
Caramel icing is the crowning glory of caramel cake, enhancing the cake with its luxurious flavor and texture. Once set, it delicately shatters with each bite, revealing soft, buttery cake generously layered with more heavenly icing.
Caramel icing should be used while still warm to ensure it spreads easily and evenly over the cake. Warm icing also absorbs into the cake slightly, enhancing its moisture and flavor.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE
Once the layers have cooled and the icing is made, it’s time to assemble the cake.
Level cooled cake layers, if desired. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Working quickly, pour and spread 1 cup (300 grams) Cooked Caramel Icing onto cake layer. Top with second cake layer; pour and spread 1 cup (300 grams) icing onto cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining icing on top of cake, letting it run down sides, gently smoothing with an offset spatula. Let stand until icing is cool and set.
A measuring cup is your best friend here, allowing you to easily pour the smooth icing onto the layers without it ending up all over your countertop. When pouring the icing, work quickly and confidently before it has a chance to harden. Allow your finished cake to set for a bit before slicing into it. This gives the caramel icing a chance to firm up, making for cleaner slices and a more polished appearance.
TO THE RESCUE
If your icing does harden (it happens!), don’t panic. Save it by using a double boiler over low heat and stirring occasionally. The steam from the water under the bowl and the periodic stirring will heat the icing just enough to keep it perfectly smooth and pourable. Alternatively, heat icing in a microwave-safe bowl on high in 30-second intervals, stirring well between intervals. Crisis averted!
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