The recipe I am sharing with you today is a great recipe for a family style cake that is excellent served for dessert with ice cream or with a hot drink or glasses of milk.
I adapted the recipe from one I found in this magazine from Food to Love, entitled Winter Warmers. I am not sure if I bought it this Winter or last Winter. All I can find as a date in it is the year 2019. I can't say if it was this year or last year.
I am thinking last year, as I don't really remember it. I did have quite a few corners of pages overturned in this one, so I thought I would look through it again and pick something to make. This is the first one I have actually cooked from it.
You will need an 8-inch round deep baking tin that you need to line with baking paper. I have big paper liners for my 8-inch cake tin which are like muffin tin liners. That's why there are lines on the edges of my cake. I figure for a family style cake, a casual cake, that's okay.
I was really pleased with the way the cake itself turned out. It rose well and has a lovely tender crumb and beautiful flavour.
I'm not sure about the icing however. It is really just like fudge. If I made it again, I would use a different icing. I think the icing for my Spanish Cake is a much better one. It is much softer and more like a butter cream, which I favour on cakes. I think fudge icing like this is much too dense and too sweet. But, that's just my opinion!
I found the icing for this one a bit too sweet and somewhat cloying. It also isn't all that attractive I don't think.
I sprinkled walnuts on it, but they didn't really do much and to be honest, I just didn't like the icing at all. Loved the cake however.
The cake I would definitely bake again, however next time I would put my brown sugar for the cake batter through a sieve to remove any lumps. My dark brown sugar had lumps in it and they just wouldn't beat out.
So sieve your brown sugar first! My tip for the day. I also think it would have been nicer had I taken it out of the oven about 5 minutes sooner. Mine was a tiny bit over-done I think, so start checking your cake 5 to 10 minutes before it is supposed to be done.
The cake itself is still very good, despite that. I do recommend the cake, just not the icing!
Yield: 10
Caramel Butter Cake
You will need a deep 8-inch round cake tin to bake the cake in. A fabulous caramel flavoured butter cake topped with a brown sugar fudge icing.
ingredients:
For the cake:
- 125g butter, softened (1/2 cup + 1 tsp)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 220g soft dark brown sugar (1 cup packed)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 TBS golden syrup
- 150g plain flour (1 cup + 1 1/4 TBS)
- 75g self raising flour (1/2 cup + 2 tsp)
- 125ml whole milk (1/2 cup)
For the icing:
- 220g soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
- 60g butter (1/4 cup)
- 2 TBS whole milk
- 120g icing sugar, sifted (scant cup)
- 2 tsp whole milk, extra
instructions:
How to cook Caramel Butter Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch round cake tin and line it with paper. Set aside.
- Cream the butter together with the vanilla and brown sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy using an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the golden syrup.
- Whisk together both flours and the cinnamon. Add this to the creamed mixture along with the milk, stirring in until thoroughly combined. Spread batter in the prepared cake tin.
- Bake for 50 minutes until well risen and the top springs back when lightly touched. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Measure the brown sugar, butter and first amount of milk for the icing in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer (without stirring) for 3 minutes. Stir in the sifted icing sugar. Gradually add the extra milk until the icing is of spreadable consistency. Spread this icing on top of the cold cake.
NOTES:
If I made this again, I would sieve the brown sugar for the cake before using so that any lumps are removed.
I usually like to bake Todd a cake at the weekend, hoping that it will last for the week. One good thing about this kind of icing is that I can just lift it right ff and replace it with an icing I do love. (Yes it is that fudgy, more like candy.) See that brown sugar lump? Sieve, sieve, sieve.
