Salted Caramel Cake

Makes 6-inch cake

Ingredients

• 113 gr unsalted butter, room temp

• 130 gr sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 240 ml buttermilk

• 30 ml canola oil

• 2 tsp vanilla extract or paste

• 350 gr ap flour

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• Pinch of salt

• For buttercream;

  • 2 egg whites

  • 100 gr sugar

  • 113 gr butter

• For the caramel;

  • 40 gr light corn syrup

  • 250 gr sugar

  • 170 ml whipping cream

  • 1 tsp salt

• 40 gr walnuts, toasted and chopped

Instructions

1. For the caramel, in a medium-sized pan, bring corn syrup and sugar to boil until it darkens in color. Meanwhile, bring whipping cream to boil in a separate pan. Take both off from the heat. Using oven mitts to protect yourself, pour whipping cream over sugar and stir. Add salt. Leave it in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

3. For the sponge, prepare a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. Beat butter and sugar in a stand mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes. Shift flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 30 seconds. Pour batter into the sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Leave it to cool.

4. For the buttercream, in a stand mixer bowl, whisk egg whites and sugar over a bain-marie. Remove the bowl from heat once when it reaches 71°C/160°F. Whisk at high speed for 10 minutes. Add a tbsp of butter at a time and mix. Leave it to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

5. To assemble, cut 2x6 inch cakes with a cake ring, and cut 2 half circles. Place the cake ring on top of a plate. Insert acetate to line the inside of the cake ring. Put 2 halves of cake at the bottom. Top with 1/3 of buttercream, make a pool in the middle leaving 1 inch from the sides. Fill the pool with 1/4 of caramel, and 1/3 of walnuts. Continue with the next level of cake and top with the last layer of cake. Cover the top layer with buttercream and set it in the fridge overnight.

6. Take the cake ring and acetate out of the cake. Cover the top with remaining caramel, and decorate with walnuts. Enjoy!