I have really been looking forward to this cake.  I was going to make it for the last free choice week and then noticed that it was coming up in the regular bake through so I held off.  It was definitely worth the wait.  This is another of the plain snack cakes but I can pretty much guarantee that if you made two layers and filled this with a smooth caramel frosting and maybe a nice coffee soaking syrup you would have one spectacular dessert on your hands.   As for me, I prefer this simple and unadorned with a cup of strong Italian roast coffee or espresso.  The rich and butter taste of the caramel really shines through here and every mouthful is an explosion of rich and mellow caramel flavor.  No tame flower this, but a full flavored gutsy cake with a nice crumb and a strong structure to back it up.  You will definitely savor every bite of this cake.  Let’s bake

The only slightly challenging thing here is making the caramel and lets face it, other than watching the thermometer, there is virtually no work involved in making caramel.  Combine brown sugar, 3/4 cup milk and butter in a saucepan and over high heat, stir until the sugar has melted and all ingredients are combined.  Bring the mixture to the boil and then stop stirring and keep it at a low boil until it reaches the soft ball stage (around 235 degrees). 

Boiling the caramel

Remove it from the heat and pour the caramel into a bowl, gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and then set the bowl on a rack and allow it to cool.

The finished caramel

Combine the eggs and vanilla and stir to blend, set aside.

In the meantime, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and blend.  Add the butter and the cooled caramel and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. 

Adding the butter and caramel

Raise the speed to medium and blend for one and a half minutes.  Add the eggs in two additions, beating about 30 seconds between additions. 

Adding the eggs

Pour the batter into a prepared 9 inch cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until done.  Cool the cake on a rack for 10 minutes, then unmold the cake and  so the top side is up onto a rack and cool completely. 

The baked cake

Decorate as desired.

Next Up:  Miette’s Tomboy