Friday, November 28, 2008

Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting


Dear dear me. Moist, satisfying sweet, intensely buttery and slightly nutty, I can't believe how luscious and addictive these cakes turned out to be.

This is the first time I've experimented with brown butter as I've always been wary about the whole carsinogenic thing, but hell, so are those deliciously crisp charred bits you get with your bbq and that doesn't stop me from consuming them from time to time. That being said, I'm only browning the butter on this occasion for the sake of experimenting. If I make these cakes again (which I'm very very sure I will), I think I'll leave out the browning bit.

After being introduced to salted caramels from my trip to Bretagne, I just can't adjust to normal caramels anymore. So the teeny weeny teaspoon of salt stated in the recipe was really quite unacceptable in my opinion. A good, liberal sprinkling of pink murray salt? Oui s'il vous plait!

Another change I did was to use yoghurt for the buttercream frosting instead of heavy cream. That was a chance I took since I did not really feel like buying a tub of heavy cream just for a couple of tablespoons. I am not sure how my other fellow Bakers fared, but it seemed like I needed a couple of tablespoons more of yoghurt than what the recipe called for. The yoghurt provided an extremely pleasant, sourish tang and is one amendment I'm happy to keep.

These cakes are a Shuna Fish Lydon recipe. The recipe can be found at her website at Eggbeater. And thanks to Dolores, Alex and Jenny for hosting this month's theme! You've certainly satisfied one sweet tooth.

9 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What pretty cupcakes! Very well done!

Cheers,

Rosa

Gretchen Noelle said...

Lovely job! I enjoy your photos!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Molasses and yogurt sound like very good alternatives, Cynthia. I must remember that.
Your cupcakes look really good.

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

i like your twist on the icing with yogurt. looks great!

Shari said...

Your cupcakes are gorgeous. Yogurt instead of cream is a brilliant idea.

Helene said...

I love ho your cakes turned out! makes me wish I had some cake left!! Great job!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

lovely looking cupcakes. good going!

Cynthia said...

thanks guys! :) now i wish i had some left...

Y said...

Ooo I can imagine the yogurt would've been a nice addition. I need to keep that in mind next time I just need a tablespoon or so of cream and can't be bothered buying a whole tub!