Brown Sugar Cake with Caramel Frosting

This recipe I had sitting around in my folder for a while now. Every time I told myself this week I'll make it, something got in the way. Finally its time had come, and of course it ends up being one of the best cakes I've baked in the past couple of months. WOW is all I have to say about this delicious cake. It sure delivers great flavor, due to all the brown sugar and caramel, and is very moist. Some who have tasted the cake asked if it has maple syrup in it! The cake also looks pretty. I love how the frosting basically covers the whole cake. It disappeared quite fast for such a large and intense cake, which is always the best compliment.  

NOTE: The caramel frosting hardens fast, so be sure to use immediately. 

Brown Sugar Cake with Caramel Frosting Recipe:

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3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
One 1-pound box (about 2 3/4 cups) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
5 eggs

Heat the oven to 325ºF. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan, or two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to mix well. Stir the vanilla into the milk and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar in 3 batches, and then add all of the white sugar, beating well after each addition. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add half the flour and then half the milk, beating at low speed only until the flour or milk disappears into the batter. Add in the rest of the flour and then the remaining milk, in the same way.

Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 325°F  for 1 hour and 10 minutes (55 to 60 minutes for loaf pans), or until the cake is nicely browned at the edges, springs back when touched lightly at the center, and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack or a folded kitchen towel for 20 to 30 minutes. Loosen the cake from the pan with a table knife and turn it out onto a wire rack or a plate to cool completely, top side up.

Quick Caramel Glaze Recipe:
Makes enough for one cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the butter melts and blends with the brown sugar to make a smooth sauce, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the milk, and let the icing come to a gentle boil. Stir well, remove from the heat, and add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and the vanilla. Beat well with a mixer, whisk, or spoon for 1 to 2 minutes, until the glaze thickens and loses a little of its shine. Use at once. If the glaze hardens, stir in 1 or 2 spoonfuls of evaporated milk to soften it.

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