Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting...Sweet and Sinful!

The star of this months Daring Bakers Challenge is Sugar! There is nothing like sugar and butter, heated together and browned ...what a wonderful couple they are! Forget about calorie counting and low fat ...it's worth it.

Dolores of Chronicles of in Culinary Curiosity was our host this month and helping her were co-hosts, Alex of Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo and Jenny of Foray into Food . And our alternative baker, once again is Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go . The recipe creator is Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater and the challenge is her signature caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting. We were lucky to have Shuna in our virtual kitchen to answer our questions. Thanks Shuna!

The recipe looked straight forward until we were directed for further guidance to another website and then the journey began...DANGER!!!!! Sugar can burn your skin badly! To be honest, I usually wear a t-shirt while baking and I don't even think about burning myself...Yes...I have been burned many times, but so was my mom, Sadie, and it just comes with the territory. Those scars are our badges of baking!

But reading all the cautionary notes was like a frightening novel, "one should ALWAYS have a bowl of ice water nearby when making caramel, wear long sleeves and USE EXTREME CAUTION. This is a hospital emergency room visit if it gets on you", so as I was about to pour the water into the very, very hot sugar, I caught a glimpse of my bare arms. YIKES! I donned my large oven mitts! There was still a stretch of skin exposed. I threw a sweatshirt on. I am now incredibly hot, trying to hold a measuring cup with one oven mitt hand . Oh yes... a screen over the pan will help when the caramel jumps and sputters ...and where is that bowl full of icewater in case you are hit, so you can dive in so the burn will be minimal? Now I am holding the screen with the other oven mitt and I feel like I should be wearing a mask. This is ridiculous. I can barely hold onto these things without dropping them with these big mitts. My luck I would end up with a broken foot.

After all this drama, it sizzled a lot ( like an exciting chemistry experiment) and the cake was very good. Yes ...very good. A lot of the Daring Bakers found the icing too sweet, but I loved the caramel taste and it was a big success with my tasters.

You can find the recipe on Shuna's blog. If you try it, please let me know how you made out and seriously...cover up.

For thousands of other approaches to the Caramel Cake, check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Why hasn't anyone designed elegant full length oven mitts?

Until we bake again

Penny

Crispy......Chewy......Warm...Chocolatey The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie!

When I was growing up in Montreal and living at home, my father and I sat around the kitchen table each evening and chatted about the day over milk and cookies. They were Sadie's cookies of course, as my mom always had something freshly baked. Recently my Dad came to visit us in Toronto and we had our milk and cookies again....and life was good....

In July of this year (2008) David Leite wrote in the NY Times about the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Bloggers all over the world tested the recipe. I finally made it and when I asked Dan what he thought...his response was "OMG...they are awesome!"

The recipe was developed after the NY Times visited the best New York City Bakeries and talked to experts in the field.

Why is this cookie awesome? First...you need to eat them while they are still warm. Chocolate in its warm and melty state is ....ummmmm.

Next...The dough rests 36 hours before baking! It is all about hydration ...allowing the dough and the other ingredients to absorb all the liquid.

And then there is size - a five inch cookie allows for three distinct flavours...the crunchy outer ring, the next ring full of flavour and chewiness and then the soft middle.

But really I think what makes this recipe is the chocolate! There are no little chocolate chips in this cookie...instead we have thin couverture, typically used to cover truffles. It melts so nicely and each bite oozes chocolate!

And the finishing touch is a sprinkle of sea salt. Why? Because it brings out the flavour...don't leave it out because it really does make a difference.

Here is the recipe and the link to the NY Times full story.

Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content ( I used Guittard Chocolates)
Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. The mixer breaks them a bit. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.
Enjoy the ultimate chocolate chip cookie!

Until we bake again...

Penny