Double-Decker Salted Caramel Cake

Twelve 9-year-old-boys let out a deafening cheer when they learned that school was cancelled for the rest of the afternoon because of the thickly falling snow that blanketed the roads and sidewalks. My husband was born in February. Growing up, his birthday was celebrated at home with a quick lunch time gathering of his classmates and friends. Party sandwiches were passed around, washed down with tall glasses of cherry Kool-Aid. Happy birthday was tunelessly but lustily sung by all the celebrants and thick wedges of chocolate fudge cake were inhaled, before heading back to class. Until a sudden winter storm intervened.

Double-Decker Salted Caramel Cake

The boys hunkered down in the rec room for an afternoon of raucous good fun. My mother-in-law dealt stoically with the lively change of plans until one of the exuberant party animals  threw his cake on the ceiling where it stuck, much to the amusement and amazement of the other revelers. This was the signal my mother-in-law had been waiting for. She quickly hustled all the guests into their coats, passed each boy a loot bag and wished them a good afternoon. My husband still gets a gleam in his eye when it snows on his birthday, as it often does.

This year we celebrated my husband’s special day with a moist, decadent double-decker salted caramel cake. This tender brown sugar cake has swirls of caramel running through it, is covered in a generous layer of salted caramel frosting and topped with whatever crunchy bits grab your fancy. The recipe for this luscious cake is by food writer and cookbook author extraordinaire Dorie Greenspan, and is published in her magical book, Baking with Dorie. This show-stopper dessert was the grand finale at this year’s birthday fete and I’m happy to report that every plate was licked clean and nary a piece of cake wound up on the ceiling.

Assemble your ingredients. Set out the butter and eggs 3 hours before baking to ensure that they are at room temperature. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray. I like to line the bottom with a circle of parchment as well.

To make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Lightly stir together the egg whites and whole egg in a small bowl. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, both sugars and the salt together on medium speed, until smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg mixture a little at a time then continue beating for another couple of minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

Turn off the mixer and add one third of the flour mixture. Pulse to incorporate the flour and continue mixing on low until the flour almost disappears. Still beating, add half of the buttermilk OR milk that has been mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and allowed to stand for 5 minutes. Add half of the remaining flour and the rest of the buttermilk or milk/lemon juice mixture. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Dot 3 tablespoons of caramel sauce on top and swirl it through the batter with a table knife. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the perimeter of the cake to loosen the edges after 5 minutes. Let the cake cool to room temperature. (You can wrap the cake and leave it at room temperature overnight.)

To make the frosting: Put the confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pour in 1 cup of caramel sauce. Reserve a few tablespoons of caramel sauce for drizzling over the top of the cake. Beat the sugar and caramel sauce together on medium-high speed until you have a smooth creamy frosting. It takes only a few seconds. If the icing is too thick to spread, add a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream.

To assemble the cake: Split the cake in half, slicing horizontally through the cake using a long serrated knife. (For ease of frosting the cake, it helps to freeze the two halves of the cake for an hour at this point. There will be less cake crumbs in your icing.)

Place the bottom half of the cake on your serving plate. Spread the cake layer evenly with frosting. Top with the second layer, cut side down. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with whatever crunchy bits you have chosen (you can also press them into the side of the cake) and drizzle the reserved caramel sauce over top of everything. The cake can be refrigerated until serving. Be sure to bring it out of the fridge at least a half hour before serving it so that it’s flavors and texture will be optimal.

Print Recipe

Double-Decker Salted Caramel Cake

Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Desserts

By Dorie Greenspan, Baking with Dorie – Serves: 12

Prep Time: 40 minutes – Cooking Time: 45-50 minutes – Total Time: 90 minutes

This tender brown sugar cake has swirls of caramel running through it, is covered in a generous layer of salted caramel frosting and topped with whatever crunchy bits grab your fancy.

Ingredients

• For the cake
• 2 1/4 cups (306 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large egg whites at room temperature
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons, or 170 grams) butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup (200 grams) packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk OR add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a 1 cup measuring cup and fill to the 1 cup line with milk. Allow the milk and lemon juice mixture to stand for 5 minutes
• 3 tablespoons caramel sauce, for swirling
• For the frosting
• 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup (240 ml) caramel sauce
• a few tablespoons heavy cream if necessary
• For finishing
• 3 tablespoons caramel sauce for drizzling over the top of the finished cake
• About 1 cup toffee bits, chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips, chopped toasted nuts

Instructions

1

Assemble your ingredients. Set out the butter and eggs 3 hours before baking to ensure that they are at room temperature. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray. I like to line the bottom with a circle of parchment as well.

To make the cake:

2

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Lightly stir together the egg whites and whole egg in a small bowl. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, both sugars and the salt together on medium speed, until smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg mixture a little at a time then continue beating for another couple of minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

3

Turn off the mixer and add one third of the flour mixture. Pulse to incorporate the flour and continue mixing on low until the flour almost disappears. Still beating, add half of the buttermilk OR milk that has been mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and allowed to stand for 5 minutes. Mix in half of the remaining flour and the rest of the buttermilk OR milk/lemon mixture. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Dot 3 tablespoons of caramel sauce on top and swirl it through the batter with a table knife.

4

Bake for 45-50 minutes until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the perimeter of the cake to loosen the edges after 5 minutes. Let the cake cool to room temperature. (You can wrap the cake and leave it at room temperature overnight.)

To make the frosting:

5

Put the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pour in 1 cup of caramel sauce. Reserve a few tablespoons of caramel sauce for drizzling over the top of the cake. Beat the sugar and caramel sauce together on medium-high speed until you have a smooth creamy frosting. It takes only a few seconds. If the icing is too thick to spread, add a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream.

To assemble the cake: 

6

Split the cake in half, slicing horizontally through the cake using a long serrated knife. (For ease of frosting the cake, it helps to freeze the two halves of the cake for an hour at this point. There will be less cake crumbs in your icing.)

7

Place the bottom half of the cake on your serving plate. Spread the cake layer evenly with frosting. Top with the second layer, cut side down. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with whatever crunchy bits you have chosen (you can also press them into the side of the cake) and drizzle the reserved caramel sauce over top of everything. The cake can be refrigerated until serving. Important: Be sure to bring it out of the fridge at least a half hour before serving it so that it's flavors and texture will be optimal.

Notes

You can make your own salted caramel sauce using this recipe: https://nancooksthebooks.com/?s=caramel+sauce, or use your favorite store-bought salted caramel sauce. The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon mixed in the cake batter. I left it out because I wanted to taste the caramel and brown sugar without any additional flavors.