Best Caramel Cake

If you're somewhere out there, please forgive me, but I can't do it. You might not understand, but I can't. Let me explain.

Okay, this way - you know, I have a blog called The Café Sucré Farine (it's French and you can read everything about the name here). I did this "blog thing" along with my best friend Scott, who was also my husband, photographer, chief taste tester and group in crime. We have many loyal and loyal followers / Café friends who rely on us; Elegant Relax …………. Delicious! What is that? Well, that's actually a blog byline (in other words, the Café's description is short) and I really have to obey it.

Not that I don't think your famous cake is just extraordinary and truly out of this world. Oh no, in fact, I've been staring at the image for some time now, removing saliva from my chin every time I see an image in the file "must make" me.

When my sweet daughter-in-law, Lindsay, and I spent the afternoon together earlier this week and Lindsay suggested that we make bread, I can't wait to take out your recipe. "Look at this! What do you think?" Lindsay agreed that your cake looked very spectacular, so we were busy.

The cake is simple and, between the two of us, we have it in a broken oven. The kitchen was quickly filled with the most heavenly aroma and when I peeked, after 20 minutes, and saw three golden delicacies staring at me. Let's just say I almost squealed and was pretty sure that we would receive an extraordinary treat.

The first two cakes flip their pan like the picture. Third, not too much. I am not sure why, but half fell to the cooling rack and the rest stuck to the pan. Maybe my frying pan is uneven but you know the old adage: "Don't cry over spilled milk"? I applied that little wisdom to my broken cake dilemma and officially declared the chaos "ready to be sampled".

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of butter softened
• 3¼ cake flour cups
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2½ cups sugar
• 2 vanilla extract teaspoons
• 4 eggs
• 1¼ cups milk

Instructions

Have eggs and butter at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350˚F. 8-inch 9-inch spray four pans generously with baking spray. * Cut circles of paper paper to fit and place one in the bottom of each pan. Spray again, lightly.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside. (You don't need a filter. I use a fine strainer for sifting, just hold the strainer above a clean bowl, add the mixture and tap gently on one side to shift.)
Beat the electric mixer butter and sugar in the bowl until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla and then one time, beating after each addition.

Add alternately in 3 batches of mixture and milk, beating until smooth after each addition.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until golden, 25-30 minutes for 8-inch pans, 30–35 minutes for 9-inch pans. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes; invert cakes onto a cooling rack; let cool completely. Slice domed tops off cakes to level them, if needed.

Place one layer cake on a plate or cake stand. Add ½ icing cup and spread to cover. Add another layer and spread with another ½ cup of icing. Add third layer and repeat with ½ cup icing. 

Top with final cake layer. Frost entire cake with a very thin layer of icing. This is the crumb coat. The crumbs will be trapped and will keep your final icing layer crumb free. Let the sit cake until the crumb coat is dry.

Place a generous amount of icing on top of cake. The icing spread over the top and down sides to cover completely, adding more icing as needed. Decorate icing with a swirly pattern as you proceed. Allow icing to set. Serve and enjoy the rave reviews.

Recipe Notes

Notes:

* Do not use cooking spray. Flour and shortening spray baking which will prevent sticking. If you don't have baking spray, grease the pan thoroughly with butter or shortening, then add a teaspoon of flour to each pan. Tilt pan to coat with flour, then dump out any excess.

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