Daring Bakers Challenge #2

To refresh everyone's memory (especially since I've been awful about blogging during the big move), a few months back, I joined the group Daring Bakers. Every month, members present a challenge for their fellow bakers... we all post to our blogs, and it's a lot of fun. See the link above for a list of all the Daring Bakers. After having to take 2-3 months off due to the big move, I was very excited to try......drumroll....Caramel Cake with Carmelized Butter Frosting!

This month, our challenge was hosted by Dolores of Culinary Curiosity, and the recipe came from came from Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater and her signature caramel cake.

For me- this challenge went better than eclairs. The first step was to make the caramel. I admit, this step worried me... This involves boiling a mixture of water and sugar until it's darkened and thickened. The instructions said that this was dangerous due to spattering and spitting once you add the colder water to stop the cooking process. I just used a splatter guard. No harm. No foul. Next time, I need to let it go just a little longer. While the color was beautiful, it was a little thin.

The cake itself came out perfectly. I found it easier to frost than I'd expected. Perhaps, though, I should have cut the cake into two layers. Frosting in between layers would have cut down on all the icing the recipe called for. If you're going to make this cake at home, I'd say half of the frosting will suffice. Unless you want the additional pound of frosting in my fridge. The hubby says he'll eat it, so I'll leave it in there a little longer. I didn't sift a pound of sugar for nothing!

Truth be told, this was my first made-from-scratch cake, and I was pleased with the result. The cake was a little dense and oversweet for even my tastes (that's saying a lot), but very enjoyable. I also thought the taste of the browned butter in the frosting overpowered any caramel flavors. Still, as I've said, highly edible.

I chose to forego the an optional challenge: Alice Medrich’s Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels, as it was challenge enough to put together a cake from scratch with a 14 month-old running around. However, a lot of the Bakers had a great time making them, and you should check out their blogs for more pics.

Thanks for the challenge also go to bloggers who assisted in presenting the challenge: Blondie and Brownie, Foray into Food, and for those bloggers who do the alternative baking thing (not me...) thanks to Gluten-a-Go-Go. I had a lot of fun with this challenge and look forward to more fun with my fellow Daring Dakers.