Best Pattis Caramel Cake Recipes

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two (9-inch) cake pans. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
• Add eggs, one at a time, and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add about a third of the flour and mix on low speed until combined. Add about half of the buttermilk and continue to mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue to add flour and buttermilk in the same way, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Add vanilla and combine fully, making sure not to overmix.
• Divide batter evenly between pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning the cakes onto wire racks to cool completely.
• As the cake bakes, make the icing: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium and let the mixture bubble for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Carefully and slowly add the buttermilk (it will bubble up), stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove from heat and add salt. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar, mixing until smooth, then add vanilla extract and mix to combine. The icing should look glossy and pour easily from the bowl.
• While the icing is still warm, spread about 1 cup icing on one cake, then top with the second cake. Use the rest of the icing on the top and sides of the cake. The icing will set up as it cools. If the icing starts to harden, microwave the icing in 10-second intervals until smooth. (You can also make the icing up to 3 to 5 days in advance, and keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.) Serve immediately.

CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• 1 Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two round 9 by 2-inch cake pans. Pour about a tablespoon of flour into each of the pans and roll it around, tapping as you go, until the sides and bottom are covered completely with a thin layer of flour. Tip the pans, and tap out excess flour.
• 2 In a large mixing bowl, mix thoroughly with a whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
• 3 In a separate large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar in 1/2-cup measures, beating about 15 seconds after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, until the mixture has lightened in color and become fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, and the vanilla, beating for 15 seconds after each addition.
• 4 Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with additions of the milk. To avoid overmixing the batter, mix gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula after each addition, until the ingredient is just incorporated. Beat until all the ingredients have been incorporated, and then just a few strokes beyond. Divide the batter between the cake pans and spread the tops evenly.
• 5 Bake until a cake tester or toothpick emerges clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in their pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then slide a thin paring knife around the edge of the pans, and invert the cakes. Turn each cake again so its rounded top is facing up, and cool the cakes completely on the rack.
• 6 Make the icing: Pour the milk and 3 cups of the sugar into a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, mixing with a whisk. Add the butter and the salt, whisking occasionally until the butter melts. When mixture just simmers, cut the heat, but keep over the warm burner.
• 7 Pour the remaining 1 cup sugar into a saucepan. Cook the sugar over medium-high heat until it becomes a syrup, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon as it begins to brown, until the sugar syrup is evenly amber colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour the syrup into the warm milk mixture, being very careful, as the caramel will bubble and sputter when it hits the hot milk. Turn the heat beneath the pot to high and, whisking gently until all the syrup has completely dissolved into the roiling milk mixture, continue to cook to the soft-ball stage, about 238°F; this may take 8 to 12 minutes.
• 8 Cut the heat beneath the caramel and gently whisk in the vanilla and the baking soda. Dip a spoon into the caramel, and let it cool to taste it. Season the caramel to taste with salt, and pour it into the bowl of a standing mixer (or use an electric hand-mixer and a large bowl). Beat on low speed as it cools, 15 to 20 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen, until the icing is creamy and thick (between 100°F and 105°F). Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and let cool 5 to 10 minutes more, until the icing is between 95°F and 98°F-it should fall off your spatula in a ribbon that remains discernible on the surface of the icing for 10 seconds.
• 9 Set the first cake layer on a rack set over a sheet plan lined with waxed paper. Have an electric hand-mixer and the hot water nearby to blend a teaspoon or two into the icing if it becomes too thick to spread. Pour enough of the icing over the cake to cover the top in a layer about 1/4 inch thick (if it drips over the edge in places, that's fine; this is an early test of whether it's going to set in place or not). Top the first cake with the second cake layer and pour the rest of the icing in stages over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides and using an icing spatula to guide the icing around the cake as it drips, until the entire cake is covered, for a traditional, classic look. (If you prefer the dramatic look of cake layers peeking out from behind a curtain of icing drips, by all means choose that route!) If you need to reuse any icing that overflows into the pan, simply move the cake on its rack temporarily, scrape up the icing from the waxed paper with a spatula and return it to the bowl, replace the rack over the pan, and continue to ice the cake.
• 10 Once the icing has set, using two spatulas carefully transfer the cake from the rack to a cake stand and let stand at room temperature beneath a cake dome until ready to serve. Only refrigerate if you plan to store the cake for more than 2 days.

PATTI'S CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Blend cake mix, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, eggs, and 2 tablespoons vanilla extract in a blender until batter is smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
• Heat 1/2 cup butter, light brown sugar, and dark brown sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add 1/4 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and return to a boil. Remove saucepan from heat and spoon confectioners' sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, into mixture using a wooden spoon, stirring after each addition until frosting is smooth. Spread frosting over cake.

PATTY'S CAKE WITH ESPRESSO-CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Grease and flour 2 81/2 by 41/2 inch loaf pans.
• Put the chocolate, butter and coffee in a large heavy saucepan.
• Place over low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted, then stir vigorously until mixture is smooth and blended.
• Set aside to cool for 10 mins, then beat in the bourbon eggs and vanilla.
• Sift dry ingredients and beat into the chocolate mixture until well blended.
• Divide batter between pans and bake in a 275* oven for 50 mins, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
• Cool in pans for 15 mins, then turn out onto racks to cool completely. Serve with whipped cream, creme fraiche or Expresso Caramel Sauce.
• "Espresso caramel sauce.".
• Whisk the sugar into water and pour into heavy bottom saucepan.
• Stir over med heat until sugar is dissolved, increase heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir, but wash down sides of pan frequently with a brush dipped in water.
• Meanwhile heat the cream to a simmer in another pan.
• When sugar begins to caramelize, lift pan carefully and swirl mixture to even caramelization.
• Boil until syrup is a beautiful brown color, about 3-4 mins.Remove from heat and set pan in sink.
• Slowly pour cream into the syrup , whisking to combine. Be Careful as it may splatter.!
• Stir in espresso and stir until smooth.
• If mixture starts to harden, return to low heat and whisk until dissolved.