MangiaMore: Real Deal Southern Caramel Cake

RER 6.23.15

Ok, maybe I’m no expert. I know I’m no expert. My cakes do not always come out looking perfect. Believe me, I wish they would like those from gorgeous baking blogs and glossy magazines. But, sadly, they do not. I am no pastry chef with culinary background and know-how. However, I am a sometimes baker who enjoys trying something different and experimenting in the kitchen.

RER 6.20.15

RER 6.20.15

For Father’s Day, I was inspired by my sister who has been wanting a caramel cake. A legit caramel cake. Not the gentler breed I made before. One of those super buttery yellow cakes held together by melted sugar caramel glue, sticky and sweet, decadent and southern. I got the picture.

However, my cake, unfortunately, did not come out like the picture.

RER 6.20.15

RER 6.20.15

The Real Deal Southern Caramel Cake recipe from Grandbaby Cakes would appease sister’s dreams and celebrate my Daddio. Making the cake was easy, despite the zillion (six) eggs plus a load (two) of yolks, the copious amounts of butter, the surplus of sugar, the random sour cream, and the endless mixing. It was cathartic and exciting, maybe a little unnerving.

RER 6.20.15

RER 6.20.15

The cake became infinitesimally more difficult when the thick evaporated milk, tons of sugar, and more butter than safe, simmered, bubbled, and boiled for more than an hour and a half. I sat and I watched and I stirred and I read when I was not sitting and watching and stirring, but at about the 1.45 hour mark, things started to burn. I ruined everything that this caramel was meant to be: a creamy, glossy, sticky caramel to coat that cake.  Mine got lumpy and dull, chunky, and stiff—to sum up, unpleasant. Little whisk in hand, I attacked the cooling caramel, hoping to bring back some of its luster  and revive the soul of this cake.

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If that wasn’t enough, this seizing caramel involved extreme, strenuous, and sometimes sweaty effort to apply. Warm caramel and muggy afternoons do not play nicely together, so what was once a straight, square and level cake, became a sloppy, lopsided mess. A few layers went one way while the others leaned the other way. Disaster.

To put it simply, the cake was not pretty.

But whoa, was it delicious.

RER 6.20.15

RER 6.20.15

I made it on Saturday and threw the swerving cake in the fridge before any more damage could be done. Sunday, after prying off the lid and some of the caramel (and cake layer #2), the ugly cake tasted amazing. The crisp beautiful layers were sweet and tangy with sour cream, but dense enough to stand up to my imperfect caramel. It was just moist enough and felt like heavy pound cake on the tongue, while the candy coating was buttery, rich, and decadent with the aroma of browned sugar. Despite it all, my unattractive cake was scrumptious filled with love, commitment, tears, sweat, and dedication.

It’s the taste that counts? Or is it the thought? Well, this caramel cake ended up being pretty tasty.

Hope you all had a sweet Father’s Day too!

RER

6.21.15

RER 6.23.15

not just nourishment: MINI COURSE food fun

RER 5.9.15

Yesterday was like the best day.

The last week of school is a “fluff week” including all kinds of fun activities like mini-courses, a field day, an all-school picnic and an awards ceremony. But yesterday was mini-course day, and as I spent the year doing the Food Fun after school activity, I chose to do a baking mini-course. I was excited because I had more time and freedom to do the things I love to do in the kitchen. So we baked cupcakes from scratch, something we could never do at school.

RER 5.9.15

RER 5.9.15

RER 5.9.15

RER 5.9.15

RER 5.9.15

After making the mini-course a competition like Cupcake Wars, six sixth graders (two teams) and I headed to the grocery store to pick up the essentials and decorations to fit into the chosen theme: Summer. Fifteen minutes of searching the aisles and brainstorming resulted in some super fun, creative and delicious results.

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The misshapen (though scrumptious) chocolate cupcakes became the canvases for summer scenes and warm-weather themes. There were marzipan suns with rainbow sprinkle features, Swedish fish surfing on sweet boards, and fish swimming in clear blue waters dotted with marshmallow fluff foam lined by graham cracker  beaches.

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Sour red and white gummy life preserver rings rested on waffle cone sand, while summer drink inspiration led to pina colada cupcakes with tropical pineapple skewers and rich butter cream frosting slid down the wide waffle cone like ice cream melting on a hot summer day.

I was supposed to declare a winner. But I couldn’t. They all won at summer!

RER

5.10.15

RER 5.9.15

not just nourishment: EASTER food fun

RER 4.2.15

Yesterday was magical. I brought in 24 naked sprinkle-speckled funfetti cupcakes for the kids of Hudson Food Fun to decorated to celebrate the last day before spring break and Easter. Jelly beans rolled in bowls, Robin Eggs colored their tongues, chocolate and vanilla frosting made their fingers sticky, and sprinkles got everywhere. Pure magic.

RER 4.1.15

RER 4.1.15

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Despite all the sugar, the kids were responsible (as they usually are with cupcakes and candy); I, on the other hand, was not. Yesterday I was sugar drunk from eating too many cupcakes and absurd numbers of marshmallow peeps.

RER 4.2.15

RER 4.2.15

RER 4.2.15

RER 4.2.15

What will you make for Easter? It’s practically here!

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4.2.15

RER 4.2.15