Salted Caramel Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

By vealam

Ingredients

• Salted Caramel Sauce:
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar
• 12 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (or a combo of extract, vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 cup salted caramel sauce*, cooled.
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cream or milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 TBs Salted Butter- cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from the-baker-chick.com

Preparation

Step 1

Salted Caramel Sauce:
Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go before you begin. Have the cream in a measuring cup and the butter in pieces near the saucepan.
Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. *A somewhat easier method involves mixing 1/2 cup water in with the sugar. It takes a while longer to caramelize, but the sugar is less likely to burn!
As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.
Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.
Add the Sea Salt. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter, flour and line with parchment 2 8x8 round baking pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy and pale. Stir in the vanilla.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt, and add to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, starting and ended with the flour mixture. Don't over-beat the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared pans evenly, smoothing tops with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
For frosting:
Cream butter until smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time and beat until well combined. Add 1/3 cup of the caramel sauce and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cream or milk if desired if your frosting seems a little dry.
To assemble.
Place the bottom layer of cake on a cake stand. Use a fork to poke some holes along the surface of the cake. Carefully spread 1/3 cup of the caramel sauce over the cake layer, letting it soak into the cake. Top with a thick layer of frosting.
Add the second cake layer with the flattest side facing up. Repeat the process of poking the cake with a fork, adding the remaining caramel sauce, and topping with frosting. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.

Notes
*If you don't want to make homemade caramel, store bought is fine- just add a teaspoon of sea salt.