Caramel & Milk Chocolate Crunch Cake

 

This week’s bake is a Caramel & Milk Chocolate Crunch Cake from Erin Jeanne McDowell of Food 52!  It’s a three layer caramel cake filled with dulce de leche and homemade crispy chocolate crunchies and frosted with milk chocolate and sour cream frosting !  

The caramel cake flavor comes from using Muscovado sugar.

Muscovado sugar — also called Barbados sugar, khandsari, or khand — is one of the least refined sugars available.  It’s made by extracting the juice of sugar cane, adding lime, cooking the mix to evaporate the liquid, and then cooling it to form sugar crystals.  The brown syrupy liquid (molasses) created during cooking remains in the final product, resulting in a moist, dark brown sugar that has the texture of wet sand.  The high molasses content also gives the sugar a complex flavor — with hints of toffee and a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Muscovado is often called an artisanal sugar, as the production methods are relatively low tech and labor intensive. The number one producer of  muscovado is India

Here is the recipe:

Caramel & Milk Chocolate Crunch Cake

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

Makes 1 (8-inch) cake

Prep time: 1 hrs

Cook time: 35 min

Ingredients

CARAMEL CAKE

4 1/2 cups (542 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

7 large (347 grams) eggs, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups (532 grams) packed dark brown muscovado (or dark brown sugar)

2 3/4 cups (665 grams) heavy cream, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CRUNCHIES

1/2 cup (88 grams) milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup (88 grams) butterscotch chips

1 cup (30 grams) rice cereal

FILLING & FINISHING

12 ounces (340 grams) finely chopped milk chocolate (don’t use chips)

6 ounces (170 grams) finely chopped semisweet chocolate (don’t use chips)

1/2 cup (115 g) heavy cream

2 cups (16 ounces) full-fat sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 1/4 cups (720 grams) dulce de leche

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans.

Make the cakes: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together to combine.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and brown sugar on low speed to combine, then turn the speed to high and whip until the mixture is thick, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and whip for 1 minute more to stabilize the foam.

Sprinkle about 1/4 of the flour mixture into the mixer and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Add the remaining flour in 3 additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Gradually drizzle the cream into the batter, mixing just until incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

Divide the batter between the three prepared cake pans and spread into an even layer. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs attached, 24 to 28 minutes. 

Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.

Make the crunchies: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, stir the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to combine. Microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring after each time, until the mixture is melted and evenly combined. Stir in the rice cereal.

Spread this mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and let set until firm. Chop coarsely into bite size pieces.

Make the frosting: Bring a medium pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. In a heat safe bowl that will fit on top of the pot, mix the chopped milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and cream to combine. Heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is fully melted.

Remove the bowl from the double boiler, and let cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, whisking occasionally, until it’s a spreadable consistency. (If the mixture cools too much, it will firm up—it can be microwaved in 15 to 20 second bursts until it’s spreadable again.) Transfer about 1/4 of the frosting into a pastry bag with 1/2-inch opening cut from the end.

Assemble the cake: Use a serrated knife to remove the domed top of the cakes.

Place one layer on a cake turntable, platter, or cake stand. Pipe a ring of frosting around the outside edge of the cake. Use an ice cream scoop (about 1/4-cup in size) to scoop 3 heaping scoops of the dulce de leche into the center and spread into an even layer. Crumble about 1/3 of the crunchies over the caramel and press in slightly. Place another layer of cake on top, and repeat this process. Continue until you’ve used all the filling and layers.

Apply a thin all over “crumb coat” of the frosting, and chill the cake for 10 to 15 minutes. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting, and garnish with remaining crunchies.

Here are some pictures from the bake:

Have a great day !