Southern Caramel Pound Cake

I made this cake last week for my co-worker's birthday. It was so rich and delicious that it should be illegal. AMAZING. I got the recipe and photo from here.


Caramel Pound Cake - Adapted From My Mother's Southern Entertaining by James Villas with Martha Pearl Villas

For the Cake:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened

6 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup milk (plus more if needed to thin frosting)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside.

To make the cake: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium-size mixing bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together both of the sugars and the butter, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately, add the flour mixture and the milk to the cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until well blended and smooth but do not over-beat. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the knife (not a toothpick) inserted into the center of the cake comes out almost clean, about 1 hour. (I usually have to bake this cake about an hour and 15 to 20 minutes - but that's just my oven - start checking cake after an hour to see if the center is set by lightly touching to see if it bounces back a bit and feels firm. Be careful not to over-bake.) Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting: Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add the brown sugar and milk and stirring, bring the mixture almost to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool for 20 minutes, then stir in the vanilla. Pour the caramel mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer and gradually add the powdered sugar, beating well, until blended and very smooth. If frosting seems too thick, add one tablespoon of milk at a time to thin.

Transfer the cake to a cake plate and frost the top and sides. Let the cake stand for at least 1 hour before serving. Serves at least 10.