The Cake

Allow me to properly introduce you to The Cake. Salted Caramel Six Layer Chocolate Cake, to be exact. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be!

This recipe is fabulous! It is labor intensive, but worth every bit. The cake is moist and springy and delicious, the caramel is rich and ads a fantastic balance of sweet to the dark chocolate of the cake, and the icing tops it all perfectly. You get a blend of sweet and salty (especially toward the top where the salt garnish is). It is glorious.

I found the recipe from another blog, The Bitten Word. It's originally a Martha Stewart creation. The Bitten Word has some good tips about the process so be sure to check it out.

Recipe:

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Yield: Makes one 9-inch cake
Serves 12

Ingredients

• For The Cake
  • Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pans
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1 tablepoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Coarse salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons safflower oil
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• For The Caramel
  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • Coarse salt
  • 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• For The Frosting
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • Coarse salt
  • 1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled
  • Garnish: flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cake: Butter three 9-inch round cake pans, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Sift flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons course salt into the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low speed until just combined. Raise speed to medium, and add eggs, buttermilk, 1 1/2 cups warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
• Divide batter among pans. Bake until cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pans set on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks, and let cool completely.
• Make the caramel: Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is dark amber, about 14 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully pour in cream (mixture will spatter); stir until smooth. Return to heat, and cook until a candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees, about 2 minutes. Pour caramel into a medium bowl, stir in 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and let cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Whisk together cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water in a bowl until cocoa dissolves. Beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and a generous pinch of coarse salt in a clean bowl with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in melted chocolate and then cocoa mixture until combined. Let stand for 30 minutes before using.
• Trim tops of cakes using a serrated knife to create a level surface. Cut each in half horizontally to form 2 layers. Transfer 1 layer to a serving platter, and spread 3/4 cup caramel over top. Top with another cake layer, and repeat with remaining caramel and cake layers, leaving top uncovered. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
• Frost top and sides of cake in a swirling motion. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Some of my thoughts/tips:

1. Any of this cake could be made from things in the store. You could easily recreate it with a jar of caramel, a box mix of cake, and your favorite icing. I would strongly encourage you to try it from scratch at least once. It is so worth it!
2. When you make the caramel, it splatters, but it also bubbles as you stir it in. Mine nearly doubled in size (temporarily) so make sure your medium sauce pan leaves room. 
3. If it's hot in your house like it was in mine, pop the icing in the fridge for a few minutes for it to set. Just give it a stir before you spread it. If your house is a normal temperature you should be fine with leaving it out. Just give it a stir and use your judgement.
4. I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder and chocolate chips for the cake and the icing because I couldn't find Dutch process cocoa powder. It was the perfect balance of sweet and dark chocolate taste.
5. I sprayed the cake pans with nonstick spray instead of using the butter/flour method this time around. Use the butter/flour method-it works better.
6. The first time I made this cake I only used about 1/2 the caramel. I froze the extra and used it in the second cake. If you follow the directions and use 3/4 c/layer (which I did this time around) you won't have nearly as much leftover. 
7. I haven't been able to get distinct layers of caramel between cake layers. The cake absorbs it and it becomes one giant, yummy, caramel infused cake. And it's perfect.