Death by Salted Caramel!!!

As soon as I saw this cake recipe, I knew I HAD to bake it! Just had to find some time because it would take a little while. So when ANZAC day came around.. it was time to bake!!! =D =D

This was my first time making salted caramel - it's always been on my to do list but I had a fear of burning it >_< Surprisingly, this recipe was simple and straightforward so I didn't end up having burnt caramel ^^"

There were about 2 tablespoons of the salted caramel leftover so I thought to myself, 'I'll just finish it off with some icecream'... BAD IDEA! It was SICKENLY SWEET!!!! >_______<" but I finished it off, to my regret! Never doing that again!
So lesson learnt - Just take one piece of cake! It will be enough :)

Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Recipe adaped from Baker's Corner 

Ingredients

1½ cups (225g) plain flour, sifted
1½ cups (330g) caster sugar
1 ½ cups (180g) Cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
¾ cup (190mL) buttermilk or milk
¾ cup (190mL) warm water
¼ cup (60mL) vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla essence

Salted Caramel
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 tbsp glucose
½ cup (125mL) thickened cream
2 tsp salt
70g cold butter, chopped

Chocolate Ganache
100g dark chocolate melts
80ml thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan forced. Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarb soda and baking powder in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil and vanilla essence. Beat on low speed with electric mixer until well combined.
3. Divide batter between pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool (~20 mintues) before turning out onto wire rack.
4. For caramel, combine sugar, glucose and 1/2 cup (125ml) water in medium saucepan over high heat. Cook, without stirring, for 15 minutes or until sugar is golden.
5. Remove from heat and carefully pour in cream, whisk until smooth. Return to heat and cook for further 2 minutes.
6. Pour caramel in medium bowl, whisk in salt, cool for 15 minutes. Slowly whisk in butter and cool completely.

Salted caramel!!!! =D

7. Make ganache by placing chocolate and cream in heat proof bowl over pot of simmering water. Stir until smooth and allow to cool.
8. To assemble, cut each cake in half horizontally to form 2 layers. Transfer 1 layer to serving platter, spread 1/3 of caramel on top. Top with another cake layer and repeat with remaining cake layers, leaving top uncovered. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Frost tops and side of cake with chocolate ganache.

2 layers of chocolate cake~

Assembling the cake! The caramel drips into all the small crevices for a deliciously moist cake

Completed cake!!!

DIG IN!!!!!! =D =D

I also made a mini version for my supervisor who was going away on maternity leave ^^

Mini chocolate and salted carmel layer cake

Opera Gateau

This is the first official pro-like cake that I've made~ it's a layer cake ^^ I found out "gateau" means cake (thanks to Bobo) and Opera must mean... coffee.. haha coz its a coffee flavoured layer cake~

Layer cakes are really fun to make and they're not as hard as it looks! There are just different components. It may look like a lot of steps but YOU CAN DO IT :D



Finished product.. now to the recipe =P

 Sponge cake
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups (150g) almond meal
1 cup (160g) icing sugar
1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
25g unsalted butter, melted
4 egg whites 1 tbs caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 220oC. Grease and line 2 25cm x 30cm cake tins
2. Beat eggs, almond meal and sifted icing sugar in a small bowl with electric beater until creamy; beat in flour. Stir in butter.
3. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form; add caster sugar, beating until sugar dissolves. Fold into almond mixture in 2 batches.
4. Divide mxture between pans. Bake around 7 minutes. Cool.

Coffee butter cream
1/4 cup (60ml) milk
1/4 cup (55g) brown sugar
2 tsp instant coffee granules
1 egg yolk
125g unsalted butter, softened

1. Stir milk, sugar and coffee in small saucepan until sugar dissolves
2. Whisk egg yolk in small bowl and gradually whisk in hot milk mixture.
3. Return custard to pan; stir over heat without boiling (~ 5 min or until thickened slightly)
4. Cool. Beat butter in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; beat in custard.

Coffee syrup
1/3 cup (80ml) boiling water
2 tbs caster sugar
1 tbs instant coffee granules

1. Stir ingredients in small bowl till sugar and coffee dissolves.

Ganache
160g dark eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
1/3 cup (80ml) cream

1. Stir ingredients in small heatproof bowl over small saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Refrigerate until spreadable.

Glaze
50 g unsalted butter
75g dark eating chocolate

1. Stir ingredients in small heatproof bowl over small saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Use while warm.

Assembling the cake
1. Cut cake so that you can get 3 even pieces (there are 3 layers for this cake.. so cut a third off each cake so you are left with two 2/3 pieces and two 1/3 pieces if that makes sense =S)
2. Place one large sponge (the 2/3 one) on baking paper and brush with half of coffee syrup. Spread cake with half of butter cream; refrigerate for 10 minutes.

3. Place next cake layer on top (two pieces of 1/3) and brush with remaining coffee syrup. Spread with ganache and top with remaining cake; refrigerate 10 minutes.

4. SPread top of cake with remaining butter cream; refrigerate 3 hours.

5. Make glaze and spread evenly over cake. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until glaze has set.

TA DA!! Look at that awesome glaze dripping down.. and ganache oozing out.. mmm mm :)