Brown Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream... and A Giveaway!!!

 

I cannot believe that it has been an entire year that I have been blogging!

Can you believe it!?!..... well, I can't! Where has the time gone?

Anyway, it all started with this post.

I have had so much fun sharing family recipes such as this one and this one. I've also enjoyed crafting things and posting about it.

It really has been a blast!

Another thing......

...... Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read this blog. It really does mean a whole lot to me. I appreciate every comment that's been left. I love reading what you have to say...... truly, I do.

You are most certainly the best bloggity blog readers EVER!

So...... HOLLLLAAAA and THANK YOU!

To celebrate I wanted to bake a cake....... because, you can't have celebrations without cake, DUH!

I wanted to try my hand at making brown butter and incorporating it as an ingredient in the cake. Basically, you cook butter until it begins forming little brown bits and turns golden or slightly dark brown.

Let me tell you..... it's lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

I thought the nuttiness of the brown butter cake would taste great with caramel. So I decided to make a caramel buttercream. Then, I thought I'd kick it up a notch by adding sea salt.

The nuttiness of the cake with the sweetness of the caramel all comes together with the slight saltiness of the sea salt. YUM!

Because I kinda like you, I'm giving away a Valentine care package.

YAY!

In it you'll find the Be My Valentine Gift Set from Sweet Shop Lulu, the Heart Shaped Mini Pie Press, Jumbo Heart Sprinkles, and a Valentine Cupcake Party Pack from Wilton.

All you have to do to end up with this lovely package at your door step is answer the following question in the comment section:

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?


Update: This giveaway has ended!

Do you stay in and load up on chocolate and watch chick flicks (love to do this!), go out to a romantic dinner with your love bug, celebrate with friends? Spill the dirt!

Rules

One entry per person, please.
Contest ends on Wednesday, February 1st at 8pm Pacific Time.
The lucky winner will be chosen randomly.

* This giveaway is sponsored by yours truly, So Domesticated. Word.

And now for the recipe...


Brown Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream

For the Brown Butter Cake:

• 2-1/2 Cups Cake Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder 
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• Brown Butter (Recipe Follows), Softened
• 1-1/2 Cups Sugar
• 3 Whole Eggs, At Room Temperature
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Whole Milk

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:

• 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter
• 1/3 Cup, Plus 2 Tablespoons Of Caramel Ice Cream Topping
• 1 Tablespoon Half & Half
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 to 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt, Add According To Taste
• 1 Pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper for easy removal. 

Begin by combining the cake flour, powder, soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In a large bowl cream the sugar and brown butter for 5-8  minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Mix in the vanilla. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and the milk until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

Divide the batter evenly into each cake pan. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until done. Check by inserting a toothpick or skewer into the center. When it comes out clean, the cakes are done. Remove from the oven and cool a few minutes. Loosen the sides of the cakes with a knife and remove the cakes. Cool completely on cooling racks and remove the parchment paper off of the cakes. Once cooled, wrap each cake separately with plastic wrap and place each in a large zip lock bag. Store in the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, level each cake, if needed. Frost the cakes between, on top of, and around with Salted Caramel Buttercream. Store the frosted cake, covered, in the refrigerator. Remove 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes 10 servings.

* I topped my cake with some cream puffs. I found them in the frozen section of the grocery store near the frozen pies and Cool Whip.

For the buttercream:

In a large bowl, cream the unsalted butter, caramel, half & half, vanilla, and sea salt. Add the sifted powdered sugar in a few batches at a time until combined with the butter mixture. If you want the frosting thinner, you can always add a little more half & half. Frost between, on top of, and around two 9-inch cake rounds. Store any left over buttercream in a container in the refrigerator.

Brown Butter

• 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Salted Butter 

Place the butter in a large saucepan, preferably stainless steel, so you can see the bottom of the pan. Melt the butter on medium heat. Swirl the pan every so often so the butter cooks evenly. The butter will melt, then foam up. Continue to swirl the pan.  As the foam subsides, the butter will start to bubble. You should start to see little golden brown flecks developing in the butter. You can remove the butter at this point for a slightly brown butter. If you choose to cook the butter a little longer, watch carefully so the butter doesn't burn. 

Once my flecks began to darken from golden brown to a dark brown, I removed the saucepan from the heat. Let the brown butter cool a few minutes, so the flecks settle at the bottom of the pan. Then strain the brown butter into a heat proof bowl or container, so that most of the flecks are strained out. I left some of the flecks in my brown butter for an even more enhanced flavor. 

For this cake recipe, let the brown butter solidify. You can place it in the refrigerator to speed up this process. 

Enjoy!

Now go enter this giveaway!!!