Wordless Wednesday - Life of a Cupcake

White Cake cupcakes, filled with Lemon Curd and topped with toasted 7 minute frosting

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Just a Hunk, a Hunk of Burnin' Cake - Old Fashioned Burnt Sugar Cake

So I am finally blogging about the Burnt Sugar Cake recipe that I got from my Grandmother.  I promised a while back that I would get to this and I would hate to disappoint anyone who has been waiting breathlessly for it.  :)

Honestly, I should have blogged about it sooner cause this cake is positively delicious!  Though, how could it not be?  It's basically a Caramel cake with Caramel 7 minute frosting schmeared all over it.  If you love Caramel, you will LOVE this....  Thanks Grandma!!!!!

Burnt Sugar Cake

Burnt Sugar Syrup

1/2 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup (2 oz) (60ml) Water

Burnt Sugar Cake
3 cups (11.3 oz) (320g) sifted Cake Flour (sift before measuring, if your using weight don't worry bout it)
1 TB Baking Powder
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 cup (8 TB) (4 oz) (114g) Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups (10.6 oz) (300g) Granulated Sugar
3 large Eggs, separated
1 cup (8 oz) (237ml) Water, room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 of the Burnt Sugar Syrup

Burnt Sugar 7 Minute Frosting

3/4 Cup plus 2 TB (6.1 oz) (175g) Granulated Sugar; Divided
1 TB light corn syrup
2 TB water
3 Large Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tarter
The remaining Burnt Sugar Syrup

First you have to make the syrup and let it cool.  So, place 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and place over medium flame.

Once the sugar has melted and become dark brown, remove the pan from the flame and add the water

and continue stirring until all the lumps have dissolved.

You well end up with about 6 TB of syrup.

Set this aside to cool while you begin constructing the cake.

Grease the bottom ONLY, of 2 9-inch (23 cm) pans, then line with parchment or waxed paper, then grease and flour the paper....  and preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) (GM 4) Degrees

Once you have sifted and measured the flour....

Add Baking Powder and Kosher Salt, then sift at least 3 more times to mix the ingredients together.

Set this aside for now and separate the eggs, setting the whites aside for a little later.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter until light.

Add the Sugar and continue beating until fluffy.

Add the Egg Yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition so the emulsion doesn't "break".

Add the Vanilla and 1/2 of the Burnt Sugar Syrup.

Now begin adding the Flour mixture, alternating with the Water, beginning and ending with the Water. (Basically, 1/4 cup Water, 1 cup Flour, 1/4 cup Water, 1 cup Flour, 1/4 cup water, 1 cup Flour, 1/4 cup Water)

Continue beating, after adding the last of the Water, for an additional minute or two until a nice smooth batter is formed.

In a clean bowl, beat the Egg Whites until firm peaks.

Fold the beaten Egg Whites into the batter.

Divide the batter between the 2 pans.

Bake the Cakes for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean (careful not to over bake or the cake will be REALLY dry due to the egg whites)

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before running a spatula around the edge and turning the cakes out onto a rack to finish cooling. (don't forget to remove the paper)

While the cakes are cooling you can make the Burnt Sugar 7 Minute Frosting.

In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup (150 g) Sugar, Corn Syrup and Water and boil over low heat.

Bring to a boil and cook until they syrup reaches 232 F (112 C) Degrees.

Meanwhile, in a grease free bowl, begin whisking or beating the Egg Whites with the Cream of Tarter until soft peaks form; then sprinkle in the remaining 2 TB (25 g) Sugar while continuing to beat until firm peaks form (this take about 3 minutes).

Remove the syrup from the flame and slowly pour it into the meringue, in a steady stream while continuing to beat the meringue on medium speed; being careful not to hit the whisk or beater with the syrup cause it will fling little shards of sugar into your frosting.

Once the syrup is completely added (do not scrape the pan) go ahead and add the remaining Burnt sugar syrup too.

Continue beating until the meringue cools down; somewhere between 5 - 10 minutes (7 Minutes on average).

OK, Now let's finally get this cake put together......

Apply 3/4 cup of the 7 minute frosting to one of the cake rounds then, of course, lay the other on top.

Schmear the remaining Burnt Sugar Marshmallowy goodness ALL over the cake....

Top with a few Pecans if you like, but they aren't really necessary. (For some reason, this cake screams pecans to me)

Then the best part... Cut into this puppy and have a BIG ol' Slice.

MMMMMMM  surprisingly "buttery" with a strong caramel flavor all wrapped in caramel marshmallow deliciousness.  Heaven!   Is it possible to swim in a cake?

Mangia!!
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I See Sea Foam - Sea Foam Frosting

Few things on the planet are as delicious as Sea Foam (Hokey Pokey, Cinder Toffee, Sponge Toffee, etc.)  But, when you combine the deliciousness of Sea Foam and the fluffy marshmallowy goodness of 7 minute frosting.  Stop the bus, cause I am getting off here!

Sea Foam Frosting is sometimes referred to as Penuche frosting.  Whatever you want to call it, it's just yummy.  I have given up on using pasteurized whites for this, simply because I find that with only 2 egg whites and so much 235 degree syrup, the temperature is well above the 140 degree mark, so the whites are getting "cooked" plenty well enough. The nice thing about this is that fresh whites whip up higher than pasteurized ones do.  Thus, a more fluffy frosting.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go bury my face in the bowl.   :)

Sea Foam Frosting

1 1/2 cups Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
1/3 cup water
Pinch of Kosher salt
2 Egg Whites
up to 1 tsp Vanilla (I usually leave it out)

Place Dark Brown Sugar, Water and salt in a medium saucepan over medium flame. (it doesn't look like there is that much in the pan, but when it starts to boil, it will foam a lot)

Stir the mixture until it comes to a boil then place a thermometer in the mix an let it boil until it reaches 235 degrees (you need to cook the brown sugar a little longer than the regular granulated sugar used in normal 7 minute frosting)

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, and wisk them to stiff peaks.

When the syrup is at temperature, remove the thermometer and turn the mixer on medium, slowly pour the dark syrup into the egg whites, being careful not to hit the whisk or the side of the bowl. (you don't want shards of sugar crystals in your frosting)

When all the syrup has been incorporated, beat for 1 more minute, then switch out the whisk for the paddle attachment (it just works better at this point)

Continue beating for at least 7 minutes, or until the frosting cools to room temperature.

What you will have is a delicious fluffy brown sugary frosting (similar in texture to marshmallow cream)

Use the frosting immediately.  No crumb coats or anything like that, as this frosting cannot be refrigerated and must stay at room temperature.

Just pile it all over whatever cake you have "lion" around.

In this case, a Baker's Cut-up cake design for my nephew Weston's 4th birthday.   These were the cake patterns my mom and grandma used while I and my brothers were growing up, yielding things like fish, turtles, giraffes, rocking horses, penguins, elephants, & various other animals like my nephew's lion.   LOL 

This one is made from Chocolate cake, with Sea Foam Frosting and a mane of Toasted Coconut;  almost like a Violet Crumble in reverse (chocolate covered in sea foam, as opposed to sea foam toffee covered in chocolate)   Add a few licorice legs and a tail with a seafoam frosted marshmallow, a gum drop nose, ear and tongue and your good to go.

Mangia!!
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