Caramel Cake

Caramel Cake with Grapefruit Curd and Candied Pistachios…
I used to be the type of person that was terrified to deviate from a recipe in any way. I just couldn’t grasp the concept of tweaking the ingredients only to screw up along the way and end up with wasted food. But, I’ve been interested in baking for a long time now, and now that I’m starting to understand the chemistry of it, I’m learning where I can get creative and where I need to acknowledge the original recipe.

Now that I’m getting more comfortable with the concept of creating my own recipes, I’ve developed a wild imagination. So many possibilities! I have this habit of pondering flavour combinations in my head, and when I get one that sticks, I have to test it out… or it willconsume me until I do. This particular cake has been on my mind for a while, so I thought it was about time to overcome my fear of wasting food, and give it a shot.

I loved the flavour profile and simplicity of bruléed grapefruit, and I wanted to incorporate those notes of bittersweet caramel and tangy grapefruit together in a cake. Instead of making a citrus-scented cake with a caramel filling, I reversed my initial instinct and made a caramel-swirled cake with a grapefruit curd. To amp up the caramel flavour, I threw some extra salted caramel buttercream in to fill one of the layers. And for added texture and a hint of saltiness, I candied some pistachios and tossed those in as well. To top it all off, I made a vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream. It was actually my first experience with swiss meringue buttercream, as I’ve always been a bit intimidated by it. The extra steps seemed a little over the top, but now that I’ve done it, I’ve realized how easy it is – and how worth it it is. All in all, it was a day of overcoming my kitchen-based fears. Go me!

Seriously though, this cake is great. It turned out better than I imagined it would – and I’ve imagined it a lot. Anyone else suffer from debilitating cake fantasies? Just me…? Okay then!

Caramel Cake with Grapefruit Curd and Candied Pistachios

For the Caramel-Swirled Cake:

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup salted caramel, room temperature (recipe below)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups milk (I used 2%)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9″ cake pans.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with paddle for about 1 minute. Add sugar and salt and cream on medium speed until fluffy.

3. Slowly pour salted caramel into bowl. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat for about 1 minute, until fully incorporated.

4. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition.

5. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add about a third of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, and turn the mixer on low speed to combine.

6. Slowly add half of the milk, and combine on lowest speed until incorporated. Continue adding at this slow pace, alternating between the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients: add another third of the flour mixture, the last half of the milk, and then the remainder of the flour mixture.

7. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and fold the batter with a spatula to ensure that it is all uniform. Evenly split the batter between the two prepared 9″ cake pans.

8. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, rotate, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted to the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely.

For the Salted Caramel:

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt, to taste
Splash of vanilla extract

1. In a stainless steel saucepan, whisk together sugar and water. With a wet pastry brush, brush down any sugar granules stuck to the inner sides of the pan.

2. Over high heat, cook the sugar, without stirring until it reaches a deep amber colour. (Watch it carefully – it can go from this beautiful dark amber to a not-so-beautiful burnt smoky mess in a matter of seconds!)

3. Once the sugar mixture reaches the desired colour, remove from heat. Slowly (and carefully!!!) add the heavy cream and whisk to combine. Watch out for hot caramel splatter! Whisk in the sea salt and a splash of vanilla. Let cool to room temperature. (Don’t throw away the extra. You’ll need it for the cake assembly!)

For the Grapefruit Curd:

1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
Zest and juice of 1 pink grapefruit and 1/2 lemon (or enough for about 1/2 cup of juice)
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 gelatin sheet (approx. 1 teaspoon gelatin powder), bloomed

1. In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, zest, and salt. Whisk in citrus juice.

2. Set over medium-high heat and add the cold butter.

3. Cook, whisking constantly, until the butter is melted and the mixture is thickened (about 5 minutes). Once thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and quickly whisk in the bloomed gelatin.

4. Strain the curd through a fine sieve into a heat-proof container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressed directly onto the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Vanilla Bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Fill a pot with about half-an-inch of water and bring to a simmer. Prepare a heat-proof bowl (large enough to act as a double boiler) by wiping with vinegar, to remove any grease. Place the bowl over the simmering water, so that it is not touching the water.

2. In the bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Whisk constantly, until the temperature reaches 140 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer, whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved.)

3. Pour the hot egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixture (also wiped with vinegar!) fit with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 5 more minutes, until glossy, stiff peaks are formed.

4. While mixing continuously on medium speed, add the chunks of butter, one at a time. After each addition, allow for the butter to be fully incorporated and for the mixture to become silky and smooth. It may look like it’s curdling at times, but be patient and keep mixing. It will get there.

5. Once all the butter is incorporated and the mixture is smooth and fluffy, add the vanilla beans, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix well!

For the Candied Pistachios:

3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1. Preheat the oven the 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat liner.

2. Stir the sugar, salt, and water together in a bowl. Add the pistachios and stir to coat.

3. Spread the pistachios on the baking sheet and bake until the nuts are golden and slightly crisp – about 8-10 minutes. Once the nuts have fully cooled, coarsely chop (or briefly pulse in a food processor).

Assembling the Cake (The Fun Part):

1. Split into four layers: Using a sharp serrated knife, mark a “middle” line around the outside of each cake layer. Carefully cut each cake layer into two flat, even halves. With a pastry brush, wipe away any stray crumbs from each layer.

2. Bottom layer: Place the first layer on the cake board, tucking strips of parchment under the edges of the cake (to protect the cake stand from stray frosting.) Spread a light layer of buttercream over the cake, followed by a generous layer of grapefruit curd.

3. Second layer: Place the second layer over the first, positioning carefully to avoid a lopsided cake. Spread another thin layer of buttercream, but this time, follow it with a layer of leftover salted caramel. Sprinkle a handful of candied pistachios over the caramel.

4. Third layer: Place the third layer on the cake, and repeat the buttercream/grapefruit curd step as was used on the first cake layer.

5. Top layer: Place the fourth and final layer on the cake. Again, ensure that the cake layers are positioned perfectly on top of eachother. You can fix a leaning cake now, but it won’t be so easy once it’s frosted!

6. Crumb coat: Coat the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream – the crumb coat – and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, until the crumb coat has hardened. This will keep any stray crumbs sealed in tightly, so you can frost the cake flawlessly!

7. Frost the cake: Once the crumb coat is hardened, you can go to town with the rest of the frosting. Sprinkle a good handful of the remaining candied pistachios over the top of the cake. They’re not just delicious. They’re gorgeous, too!

8. Eat. No, really. That’s it. You can EAT now!

Hope you enjoyed my first attempt at creative cake-making. Stay tuned for the next one… my imagination is always on the go!