I was SO close. Look at my progression during the caramel boiling......beautiful, perfect amber hues. THEN, I forget to turn down the heat when I turned to grab my butter and cream..which I had measured and ready. sad.
It went from perfect to burnt in less than 1 second. I prayed I was wrong. I tented and added the butter & cream.
I tented as to prevent burns. I have burnt myself a few times in the kitchen lately and I was hesitant to try the caramel - the tent was protective. (see the steam) I waited for the sauce to cool and tasted it. Yep, Burnt. Just enough to have a burnt after taste. Since I intend on sharing this, I had to go to my backup plan. 
30 unwrapped caramels from the bulk candy section. HEY - don't judge me. I tried. I am not ashamed. I threw in 2 tbsp of butter and about 1/4 cup cream - I nuked it for 90 seconds and stirred it every 20 seconds. It is good.
I baked the cake/brownie in 3 disposable loaf pans for 28 minutes - 2 are going to work with Hubby and 1 is for taste testing. They sunk in the middle - which I expected from reading others' comments and blogs. I switched the bittersweet chocolate in the recipe for milk chocolate chips. I poked holes in them as I wanted the caramel to drain into the cake a little. I heard from other TWD members that the cake was dry. The middle cake is missing it's top right corner - I pulled it off taste. It was YUMTUMRUM!
With peanuts and sauce......
A few halloween sparkles.....
and, a piece for me. It was so good.........my cake was moist and just the right the flavor to really taste the **homemade** caramel sauce. I think the hard working boys on the Hubby's job site will appreciate this.....I know I did. (both pieces).LYK.
It seems like a lot of people burned their caramel, so you're not alone! I bet the version you made with the store bought caramels was just as good. Looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteOoo, I like the idea of poking holes in the cake for the caramel to ooze in - it's like a version of a tres leches cake! Storebought caramels definitely work, and I like the halloween touch.
ReplyDeleteHahaha way to save it! It looks absolutely delicious! Love the halloween sprinkles!
ReplyDeleteat least you gave it a good try! that is why i said in my blog if you are trying to decide if your caramel is set, to pull it off the heat while you are deciding b/c it goes from perfect to burnt in a flash! i love your pretty plate pic of the progression of the caramel though! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, your cake certainly looks great!!! I'm glad you liked it!!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for trying the caramel -- and for coming up with a good alternative when it didn't work out!
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