Paula Deen's Caramel Cake

So, here is the first recipe from Mrs. Deen. It is her Caramel Cake. It's not a beautiful looking cake by a long shot, but it reminds me of the cakes my step-grandmother used to make for all the holidays in Plant City, FL. They were never store quality in appearance, but were so darned good you couldn't stop eating.

Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/caramel-cake-recipe/index.html

As you may have noticed, this particular recipe is NOT in the two books I purchased to do this project with, however it is on the Food Network website. Darling Hubby was watching "Paula's Party" a couple weekends ago and suggested I try the Caramel Cake, hence it is my first entry.

Now, for the changes I made to the recipe. Wherever it called for milk, I used canned, evaporated milk. In the frosting, it called for heavy cream..me, being far too lazy to go to the store for just one item, improvised and again, used canned, evaporated milk, thinking it was a little richer than just plain 2% like we keep in the fridge. I had read the reviews of the cake before hand, and decided I wanted to make DOUBLE the filling recipe and I'm glad I did. I had a few tablespoons of it left over and decided to drizzle it over the frosted cake as garnish/decoration, so that is what you see in the picture.

As for taste, well..I want to try to wait until Brad gets home to try it officially, but the components separately all taste devine. The cake batter is a simple, but it tasted wonderful and the filling is some of the best caramel sauce I've ever tasted and the frosting, it was just a tad too sweet, as some of the reviews I had read, said, so I added just a pinch of salt which seemed to help bring out some caramel flavor before the sweetness hits your palate. I had absolutely none of the problems folks describe on the website, no falling, sticking, or layers shifting. Check back later for an update on the official taste testing!!!

Taste test review: This is a very rich cake. It is NOT the texture we as a society have become accustomed to these days. It's what I remember cake being as a kid. The cake is slightly crumbly, not overly sweet, not nearly as moist as a Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines cake mix cake would be. It's a very mild flavored cake, made more to carry the flavors of a filling or frosting rather than be the center of attention. It's what cakes used to be like, in the 70's. The filling is great, once it cools though, it gets a little grainy from the brown sugar. Next time, I'll boil it a little longer than suggested to see if I can dissolve those crystals better. The frosting is what old fashioned home made frostings used to be. Nothing like the air filled stuff we get out of the tubs at the store or like the Wilton Company's decorator frosting recipes. Again, I'd boil/cooke the caramel base a little bit longer to avoid the crystals in it as well. I got myself a normal slice of cake, not big by any shot and couldn't eat it all, it is sweet and gooey in the areas where the filling penetrates the cake and very very very rich. I ended up getting a little extra insulin after I ate it, I could tell I was going to need it, LOL. I will repeat this one, with the extra cooking times I stated and probably use it for taking to social gatherings (as if I go to many of those). So there you go. My first complete blog. I'm looking into chicken dish for tomorrow, and considering some Baked Grits...hehehehehe...how Southern can I get?!?!