Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

I'm sorry people. I made an Oreo Cheesecake last week planning to blog it, but it was a disaster. I mean, not taste-wise, but every other-wise.

After a series of unimportant and totally pointless freak-outs during the process of making this cake, The Husband said to me, "You just need to chill out when you bake." Which made me kind of miffed.

But icing a cake is a quiet, tedious process that gives you a lot of time to think. While I was icing this cake, I thought about it and realized that I am a selective control freak. In my dayjob as a preschool teacher, there is not a lot about my day that I can control. Dirty diapers, babies screaming, things spilling, toys getting dumped... So when I come home, I like the things that I can control to be just so.

So I won't be able to chill out when I bake. And that's okay. I'll just try to be less rude to the Husband about it. Even if he DOES turn off the oven and cause my layers to sit in the oven, not cooking, for 30 minutes.

Except, try not to think about dirty diapers while you're icing a cake.

Speaking of this cake, it is SUPER. Continuing my salted caramel binge, I chose this recipe and believe me, I did not choose wrong.

It's a little daunting once you see the ingredient list, but don't be frightened away, it's not hard and it's super delicious.

(Most of)Your Ingredients: Sugar, Flour, Brown Sugar, Sour Cream, Eggs, Cream Cheese, Baking Soda, Buttermilk, Vanilla, and that's right, almost 4 sticks of butter. Not pictured: Coffee and Salted Caramel

Cream together the butter and sugars, add in the eggs, and then the vanilla. It looks like this- sort of goopy and gross. Don't fret. It gets better.

Mix together your cream cheese, sour cream, and coffee in a bowl. In another bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt.

 
Now just mix it all together and get your batter, and bake it into two delicious, gorgeous chocolate layers.

Whip up your frosting, which is a beautiful, light caramel color.

Now just frost your cake, and eat it up! Nom nom nom.

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

From Around the Table on Blackberry Farm

Cake:

12 tbsp. butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 extra-large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 tbsp. good brewed coffee

1 3/4 AP flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting:

1 cup salted caramel

16 tbsp. butter, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese

3 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 9 or 10 inch cake pans (doesn't affect anything but the size of the layers).

Cream together the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sour cream, buttermilk, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately to the butter, starting with the buttermilk and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

Pour batter into layer pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let layers cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

Cream together butter and cream cheese until creamy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix together. Add in the cup of salted caramel and mix. Add powdered sugar until you have the consistency of frosting that you want. 

Frost your cake and enjoy!