Well, this is rather dark.

You’re probably going to want to keep this cake to yourself. But don’t, because you will make so many peeps happy by sharing.

I was looking for something quick to make for my son’s birthday yesterday. Caramel Cake to the rescue.

This Caramel Cake recipe starts with a boxed mix that gets doctored up to taste like a homemade vanilla cake. It’s very light textured, which is perfect since it is cloaked in an incredibly rich and sweet caramel icing that hardens up into a delectable shell.

I added some swirls of whipped cream to dress up the cake (and hide some imperfections), but a scoop of ice cream on the side would be mighty fine, too.

Caramel Cake

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 cup whole milk
8 tablespoons butter, melted
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Quick Caramel Icing (Recipe below)
Whipped Cream to decorate, optional (Try the ‘No Weep’ recipe below, which is great on a hot day)
Purchased caramel sauce, optional, to drizzle over the whipped cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.

2. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, then dust with flour.

3. Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more.

4. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

5. Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 27 to 29 minutes.

6. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack to that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the Quick Caramel Icing.

8. Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with the warm frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes. Work quickly, as the frosting will set. (If the frosting gets too hard to work with, place the pan back over low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly, to soften it up.) Once the frosting has set, slice and serve.

Note: Cake can be stored covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 1 week or it can be frozen, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight before serving.

Quick Caramel Icing

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place the butter and brown sugars in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add the milk, stir, and bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until the icing is smooth.

2. Use immediately (while still warm) to frost the cake of your choice or the icing will harden. If it does harden while you are frosting the cake, simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the icing softens up.

Makes 3 cups, enough to frost a 2- or 3-layer cake

Note: The icing is a bit tricky and you have to work FAST or it sets up. Still delicious, like a praline. Check these reviews here, where a lot of bakers added some extra milk to the icing to make it easier to work with.

Here is a photo of one side of my cake. You can see how I couldn’t get the icing to drip evenly to cover the entire cake. There were also some tiny lumps in the icing because I was too lazy to sift the confecioners’ sugar. Some swirls of whipped cream were perfect to cover up the imperfections.

Recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn

No Weep Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 pint whipping cream
2 tablespoons dry vanilla instant pudding mix (fold over paper envelope it comes in and keep for future use (1 box does about 3 batches of whipped)
1 teaspoon confectioners’sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whip all ingredients together until firm peaks form.

2. Cover leftovers tightly in an air-tight plastic container. It will keep for one week in the fridge.

Recipe from Food.com

Perfect for a Birthday Cake.

What’s a party without some excellent dance music? I can never keep still when this cracking tune is playing.

Check out So Many Wizards on the band’s ultra cool Website, where you can buy their music.

Cheers!