Cakes are a treat - in our family they are also a respected tradition which perhaps started with my parents' experience of Germany where they lived post war (and we were all born) because there the time given up for a coffee and a slice of indulgence is a national pastime. In our house it is tea and no-one worries (much)about the fattening side of things, as little of what you fancy does you good etc etc.
This recipe makes a very sweet slice so you do have to be in the mood. The cake itself is nutty but the indulgence comes from the icing - mind you I did use a bit too much of the caramel ingredient when I made this at the weekend. As there are only two of us for the afternoon ritual - even allowing for visitors a whole cake like this is too much- I have wrapped half of it in foil and put it in the freezer for a day when we really need a sweet hit.
Toffee flavour in a cake is quite hard to achieve. Once I have made one with Cadbury's caramel bar chopped up in it but it was very soggy. This uses a tin of boiled condensed milk which is instant caramel. The recipe is one of those which I have stored as a scrap of paper for ages; it came out of a weekend newspaper and I have now adapted it a bit, as roasting and grinding hazelnuts when there were ground almonds in the cupboard seemed a step too far - but I am sure it would be good with those.
Nutty Caramel Cake
175 g butter softened
100g light brown sugar
200g caramel out of a tin
2 large eggs
100g ground almonds -or roasted,skinned and ground hazelnuts
175g P flour
1 tbs cocoa
2tsp baking powder
No 4/350 - 2 x 18cm tins greased and bottom lined
50 g butter
150g caramel - this is slightly less than the rest of the tin but I used whatever there was...
150g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Beat the caramel and butter together first and then mix in the rest to make a smooth icing. If it is very runny add a little more sugar. Put some in the middle of the 2 cakes and let the rest trickle over the top. Add some whole nuts if you like for decoration.
This recipe makes a very sweet slice so you do have to be in the mood. The cake itself is nutty but the indulgence comes from the icing - mind you I did use a bit too much of the caramel ingredient when I made this at the weekend. As there are only two of us for the afternoon ritual - even allowing for visitors a whole cake like this is too much- I have wrapped half of it in foil and put it in the freezer for a day when we really need a sweet hit.
Toffee flavour in a cake is quite hard to achieve. Once I have made one with Cadbury's caramel bar chopped up in it but it was very soggy. This uses a tin of boiled condensed milk which is instant caramel. The recipe is one of those which I have stored as a scrap of paper for ages; it came out of a weekend newspaper and I have now adapted it a bit, as roasting and grinding hazelnuts when there were ground almonds in the cupboard seemed a step too far - but I am sure it would be good with those.
Nutty Caramel Cake
175 g butter softened
100g light brown sugar
200g caramel out of a tin
2 large eggs
100g ground almonds -or roasted,skinned and ground hazelnuts
175g P flour
1 tbs cocoa
2tsp baking powder
No 4/350 - 2 x 18cm tins greased and bottom lined
- Beat the butter and sugar with the caramel till smooth, then beat in the eggs one at at time - don't worry if it looks curdled.
- Beat in the nuts and then the sifted dry ingredients.
- Use a wooden spoon, or a hand mixer. It would probably be fine in a processor as well.
- Divide the mixture between 2 tins, level and bake for 25 - 30 mins till a toothpick or similar comes out clean.
- Put to cool on a rack and then remove from tins and ice.
50 g butter
150g caramel - this is slightly less than the rest of the tin but I used whatever there was...
150g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Beat the caramel and butter together first and then mix in the rest to make a smooth icing. If it is very runny add a little more sugar. Put some in the middle of the 2 cakes and let the rest trickle over the top. Add some whole nuts if you like for decoration.
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