Caramel Latte Cake

Last week was my hubby's birthday.. for his cake I knew I wanted to do something coffee related, since he's a coffee nut!  I mulled over several ideas and recipes before finally settling on a 'Caramel Latte' Cake!

I started with a golden butter yellow cake batter, to which I added a bit of espresso (espresso powder dissolved in hot water).. the cake was rich and very tasty but I think I would add a bit more espresso next time for a stronger coffee flavor (it was my first time making this so I didn't want to go overboard with the espresso ;)

For the caramel filling, I chose a Paula Deen recipe (below) I came across in my research, which was amazing in this cake!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.   The filling will seem too liquidy to put in between cake layers, but because it's caramel, it stiffens up and stays in place quite well.

The frosting was a Caramel/Espresso combination that I sort of created:

 1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream x2 (more if needed for consistency)

7 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

3 tsp espresso powder, dissolved in 3 tsp hot water

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and coffee mixture. Beat until it reaches a spreading consistency. At this time it may be necessary to add a tablespoon of heavy cream, or more, if frosting gets too thick.

I had never made a 'caramel' frosting before and discovered it can be tricky to work with.  The frosting hardens pretty quickly after being put together, so if you're not going to be frosting right away (as I didn't), there are a few tips I can offer to make working with caramel frosting a bit easier.  First, I added a bit more heavy cream and re-whipped it with a spoon.  I also heated it frequently in the microwave, as I was frosting, at 30 second intervals which worked very well.. just heat and give it a stir each time.  I actually frosted the cake with a tip (which is how I frost all my cakes but I typically smooth them afterward).. I didn't smooth this one because I liked the 'piped-on' frosting look.  The cake was yummy and the hubby loved it :)