Salted Caramel Cake
 
Prep time
Bake time
Total time
 
I use 7" cake pans for 3- Layers of cake, but if you only have 8" layers just divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans for a 2-layer cake
Serves: serves 10ppl
Ingredients
  • 1 Recipe Chocolate Cake
  • 1 Recipe American Buttercream *minus 2 cups of confectioners sugar from the recipe
  • Caramel Sauce:
  • Granulated Sugar 2 cups (400g)
  • Water 6 Tablespoons (90ml)
  • White Vinegar 2 teaspoons (10ml)
  • Salt 1 teaspoon
  • Canned Coconut Milk 1 cup (240ml)
  • Caramel Corn:
  • Kernel Corn ¼ cup
  • Coconut Oil 1 Tablespoon
  • Brown Sugar ½ cup (100g)
  • Vegan Butter 6 Tablespoons (85g)
  • Baking Soda ¼ teaspoon
  • Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
  • Salt ¼ teaspoon
Instructions
  1. Grease & parchment line the cake pans and preheat your oven to 350°
  2. Follow the recipe instructions for the chocolate cake recipe
  3. Prepare the buttercream recipe of your choice while the cakes are baking.
  4. Prepare the caramel sauce recipe by combing the sugar, vinegar & water together in a heavy bottom sauce pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar before it comes to a boil
  5. Once the sugar mixture is boiling DO NOT STIR
  6. Bring to 320°F or once the color of the syrup turns from pale yellow to medium amber then remove it from the heat
  7. Let the pot stand for about an minute then add the coconut milk gently while stirring BE VERY CAREFUL AS THE HOT SUGAR SYRUP WILL BUBBLE UP & SPATTER!
  8. Add the salt & vanilla extract then pour into a heat proof container to cool slightly
  9. Pour the caramel into the work bowl of your stand mixer with the balloon attachment and whip on low speed first to be sure there is so spattering, then slowly increase the speed to medium and whip for about 8-10 minutes.
  10. The caramel will cool as you whip while incorporating air, turning it lighter and thicker.
  11. it will also thicken as it is refrigerated.
  12. Add about ¾ cup of cooled caramel sauce to the buttercream recipe and whip smooth
  13. Once the cakes are cooled you can assemble the cake as shown in the video tutorial
  14. For the Caramel Corn:
  15. First pop the corn by combing the coconut oil and the kernel corn in an 8qt stock pot with a heavy bottom.
  16. Over high heat with the lid on, shake the pan once in a while to coat the kernels with hot oil and wait for it to start popping
  17. Once it is popping quite vigorously turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook until the popping slows down
  18. Remove from heat and pour the popped corn into a large bowl
  19. Prepare the caramel by combining the vegan butter with the brown sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar over low heat
  20. Once it comes to a boil stop stirring and let it boil until it reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer
  21. If you don't have a candy thermometer it's ok, just let it boil for about 4 minutes then remove it from the heat and stir in the salt, baking soda and vanilla extract stirring to incorporate, it will bubble up slightly so be careful
  22. Pour the hot caramel over the popped corn in the large bowl and toss to coat evenly
  23. Pour the caramel corn out onto a lightly oiled sheet pan or a silicone mat to cool
  24. Store in an airtight container to prevent it going stale & getting sticky
Notes
Salted Carmel Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in very cool temperatures
For longer storage cover loosely and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week
* the caramel corn will melt & go sticky when refrigerated
Recipe by Gretchen's Vegan Bakery at https://www.gretchensveganbakery.com/salted-caramel-cake/