I am not completely sure what happened to the month of November. Between post-MoFo blog abandonment, making enough "decontructed pumpkin pie" for 80 people, and preparing for our own Thanksgiving dinner, Daring Bakers kind of crept up on me.
Luckily for me, this month's challenge for Caramel Cake with Caramelized Buttercream frosting (written by Shuna and presented by Dolores and her cohosts Alex and Jenny, with GF help from Natalie) allowed for some freedom and was easily veganizable. The first step to making caramel cake? Well, that would be making the caramel.
I got a stern warning from the main dishwasher in the family NOT to let the caramel burn lest I spend hours scrubbing out the saucepan. It was extremely tempting to remove the pan from the flame before the syrup turned a golden amber color, but I resisted even in the face of the potential consequences.
Knowing that I've done several cakes for Daring Bakers already, I decided to mix it up a bit and make cupcakes. I only slightly modified the recipe for agave nectar cupcakes from VCTOTW, subbing half of the agave nectar with the caramel. And to make for an even sweeter surprise when one bites into the vanilla and caramel-scented cupcake, I filled the center of each with caramel before baking.
See that caramel bubble on the wrapper below? That's the caramel trying to bust out. Just a swirl of fluffy buttercream and a drizzle of caramel completes these simple cupcakes.
And I didn't even have to scrub the pot for hours on end....
Shoot for the Moon
2 days ago
