Paula Deens Caramel Cake

It has become a tradition to bake my husband a caramel cake on his birthday. This happened because one year I asked him what kind of cake did he want for that year.  He said a caramel cake.  ?????  I'm not sure I had ever eaten a caramel cake and knew I had never seen a recipe for one.  What exactly is caramel?  Where does it come from?  Do you buy caramel flavoring, caramel spice???

I began by searching the Food Network site.  Relieved, I found a recipe by Paula Deen.  Just let me say, I have never cooked a Paula Deen recipe that my family simply didn't love and wanted more of.  So, I knew I could trust Paula and have a sure-fire winner with her caramel cake recipe.  This is a 3-layer cake with a caramel filling and caramel frosting. 

And to answer the earlier question.....caramel is just butter and brown sugar.  No wonder my husband is crazy about it!  In fact he has always said that french cooking and southern cooking is very similar.  Both use butter and more butter!  And this recipe has a LOT of brown sugar and butter.  In fact, it uses 4 different kinds of sugars and 2 cups of butter. 

Here is my cake from last year. 

Yes, it is somewhat uneven!  Hey, don't judge, I only make it once a year!

And from another view.

You may also add pecans to the top for decoration. Below is the recipe.  And the link is here if you want to go straight to the Food Network site and see the recipe there. 

Caramel Cake by Paula Deen

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups self-rising flour, sifted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Frosting:  

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, or more if needed
• 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Cake:

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer cream butter until fluffy. Add granulated sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.
Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 4 inches above counter dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Filling:

While cake is baking, in a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Remove cake layers from oven and allow cake to remain in pans as you prepare to stack and fill. Remove first layer and invert onto cake plate. Pierce cake layer with a toothpick over entire surface. Spread 1/3 of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again.
*Cook's Note: As you stack layers together, stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting.

Frosting:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in brown sugar and cream. Bring to a boil, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a handheld electric mixer until it reaches a spreading consistency. At this time it may be necessary to add a tablespoon of heavy cream, or more, if frosting gets too thick. Be sure to add cream in small amounts because you can always "add to", but you can't take away. Frost cake and sprinkle top with chopped nuts, if desired.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your cake!  Libby~

linking up to Home May'd Recipe party at Southern Hospitality

 

Nanny's Pecan Pie

Growing up I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother, whom I called "Nanny".   I enjoyed being with her as she always had something interesting going on.  Nanny was an excellent cook, gardener and seamstress.  My parents named me after her as they chose her middle name to be my middle name too! 

In 1983 she made a very special Christmas present for all the married women in the family.  A recipe book filled with all her best and most popular dishes, called Nanny's This and That.  One of those recipes was for her pecan pie. 

In recent years I have made this pie a lot.  It never fails to garner high compliments.  I think one of the reasons people like it is because it is not too sweet as some pecan pies can be.  We (my husband loves this so much he wanted to learn how to make them too) just made 4 last week for Thanksgiving.  Two to take to family get-togethers and two to keep at home.  It is Monday and they are gone, gone, gone.  But fortunately for you, today, I am going to share this recipe with you!

Nanny's Pecan Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed

1 1/2 cups light or dark corn syrup (I use light corn syrup)

2 tablespoons butter or oleo softened

3 tablespoons flour (all purpose)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

5 eggs beaten 

2 cups broken pecan pieces

2 regular 9-inch pie shells (do not use deep dish)

Combine flour and sugar.  Mix well.  Add butter.  Beat with wooden spoon to combine.

Stir in syrup and eggs.  Combine well.

Add vanilla and salt.  Add broken pecans.  Mix well.

Carefully pour into pie shells.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes.  

Cool completely before serving.

Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.  Delicious!

We used some whole pecans to decorate the top of the pie.  

Another reason this recipe is dear to me is because of the book she made for us.  She hand wrote the recipes then my Aunt made mimeographed copies.  She also wrote a special letter to us which is in the very front of the book.

 Nanny then sewed fabric to the cover.  Look how ingenious!

 

  

As you can see in the pictures this book has seen much wear and tear.  It has been well loved and much used since 1983. Nanny is no longer with us.  She went to be with the Lord in 1988.  Thank you Nanny for giving us something very precious that we can treasure and enjoy for years to come!  

Come back tomorrow to learn who won the $25.00 give away from Vintage Townsquare! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Libby~