Antique caramel cake

Geez it’s been a long time since I’ve posted on this here blog, hasn’t it? And by “a long time”, I mean “approximately two weeks”, which is basically the same thing when you have my attention span.

Blame it on schoolwork. We’re back in the trenches, and honestly it is kind of dizzying to go from having profound revelations about the nature of the unit circle to remembering oh shit I forgot to study for that plant hormone quiz next period to, within fifteen minutes, staring down at said quiz thinking what the fuck is an auxin on a regular basis.

But I can’t complain too much. The year seems to be flying by; and while life is kinda boring and monotonous right now, there’s plenty of exciting stuff on the horizon. There’s the possibility that I will be starting my college education next year (it’s a weird situation—don’t ask—but I’ve got my hopes up goddammit). There’s...fuck, the presidential election, I guess? Which I’m not so much excited for as I am scared shitless, but whatever? And there’s the fact that my brother is definitely going to college next year, possibly studying violin (?!?!). And there’s a chance that maybe, somewhere along the line, I’ll learn how to drive. (See, I didn’t bother starting my driver’s education immediately after I turned sixteen because the idea of commandeering a two-thousand-pound death machine terrified me, but I dunno if that has changed yet.) So I’m okay with focusing on school and generally having a boring-ass life for the next few months.

In the meantime, I’ve been keeping busy with baking.

Even though I made this cake like, last year.

This particular baked good is definitely a crowd pleaser. And I know that for certain because it was served to a crowd and received rave reviews, and I even received an email asking for the recipe shortly after the last scrap was gone. Which is usually a good sign.

I dunno, I think they liked it.

I should note that the caramel sauce in this photo is a slightly different version from the recipe in this post—it lacks margarine, so it’s a little thinner and more runny. Not that it isn’t delicious, because it is. The thicker version is just better for drizzling on cakes like this.

But I don't discriminate.

Anyway...here’s the recipe.

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Antique caramel cake

Adapted from Baked Elements by Matt Lewis

Ingredients

Cake

21 grams • ground flaxseed • 3 tablespoons

135 grams • warm water • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons

112 grams • vegan butter, room temperature • 4 ounces

250 grams • granulated sugar • 1 1/4 cups

110 grams • light brown sugar • 1/2 cups

272 grams • all-purpose flour • 2 cups

244 grams • nondairy milk • 1 cup

8 grams • apple cider vinegar • 1 1/2 teaspoons

4 grams • baking soda • 1 teaspoon

15 grams • white vinegar • 1 tablespoons

Caramel frosting

58 grams • dark brown sugar • 1/4 cup

140 grams • vegan butter, room temperature • 5 ounces

84 grams • coconut milk, full-fat • 1/3 cup

224 grams • vegan cream cheese, room temperature • 8 ounces

2 grams • salt • 1/4 teaspoon

240 grams • powdered sugar • 2 cups

Topping

1/2 cup caramel sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

Combine flaxseed and water in a small bowl. Let sit until thickened.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat vegan butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flaxseed mixture and mix until well-incorporated. Add flour in three parts, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in the vinegar. Beat into the batter just until combined.

Divide batter evenly between baking pans and smooth out the tops. Bake for 32 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the tops are slightly browned. Transfer to wire racks and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely.

To make the caramel frosting, start by combining brown sugar and 56 grams • 2 ounces vegan butter until melted and combined. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 to 15 seconds. Remove from heat, whisk in the coconut milk, and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool completely. Once brown sugar mixture is nearly cool, place remaining 85 grams • 3 ounces vegan butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until smooth. Add vegan cream cheese and salt and beat until smooth. With mixer on low speed, stream in the brown sugar mixture. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 2 minutes, until fluffy. If the frosting feels too loose, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes until it firms up a bit.

To assemble cake, simply frost the cake layers with caramel frosting. Drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired. Slice and eat.

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