This week's recipe was chosen by Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy and what a great choice! Considering how decadent Dorie's picture looked I decided we didn't need a whole cake, so I thirded the recipe and made 3 muffin sized cakes.
The cake mix worked perfectly. I lined a jumbo muffin pan and baked them for 25 minutes at 150 deg C. The texture was probably more cake than brownie but very soft, moist and intensely chocolaty. Maybe a few minutes less would have given a more fudge-like middle but I was totally happy with these.The taste test ...
The cake was delicious! I will definitely be making this again. The muffin size works really well and I love doing individual serves. My only issue was with the caramel.
It took about 15 minutes to get a beautifully clear, deep amber toffee (I was tempted to make toffee apples at this stage) but when I added the cream and butter it all went wrong. The caramel went really milky and cloudy looking and cystalised as it cooled. The end result looks dull and uninviting. It tasted nice but a bit sugary rather than smooth as I had envisinged. While I did halve the recipe I've never had any trouble working with sugar before.
So if anyone out there can tell me where I went wrong I would be very grateful! My taste testers didn't care but the perfectionist in me really wants to make it, well ... perfect!
Looks delicious and such a cute idea to use muffins. Don't know about the caramel, but yours does look great regardless.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought would be that your cream and butter were cold. They have to be at room temperature, or else you'll get some of the caramel rapidly cooling down (especially if you're not making much) and crystallizing. Even with the caramel issue, your minis look wonderful though.
ReplyDeleteDorie gives a little warning about trying to cut down the recipe. Maybe that was the problem with your caramel? The little cakes are so cute, though!
ReplyDeleteI didn't mess with the caramel topping..I made my own fudge pecan topping! I liked it cus it cut down the sugar amount. I love your cakes!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of doing it in smaller form. The last picture with the cream was perfect and made it look all the more decadent! Lovely job.
ReplyDeleteHello, I would agree that maybe if you cut down on the recipe that could be where things went a little haywire. Did you lower the temperature before you added the cream and butter? My cream and butter was only out for a few minutes before I added it to the sugar. Great job and good eating!
ReplyDeleteI agree with rebecca, I too wanted to cut down the recipe but was scared off by Dories warning...
ReplyDeleteYour cakes look delicious though. Yum!
I love the little cupcakes! thanks for making my pick
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where you went wrong, but it looks SO delicious, nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteI certainly cannot give advice on caramel since this was my first time to try it and mine did not turn out so well. But yours looks delicious!
ReplyDeletelove your mini version! not sugar about your problem w/the caramel - maybe it was b/c you halved it?? try again w/the full recipe - you won't regret it :) i could eat that stuff by the spoonful (i did!)
ReplyDeleteHi Susan - saw your comment on the donuts on my blog. I hadn't seen any other donut blogs but would love to! Do you remember what the blogs were now?
ReplyDeleteI'd tend to guess that your problem with the caramel was the temperature of your ingredients and not the reduction of the recipe. I've made both dinky and large recipes of (a different recipe of) caramel and never had any problems. But I always made sure everything was at the proper temperature. Sugar/corn syrup usually need to be ~335F, then add the cream and butter and make sure they're not cold. I usually add my cream after warming it a bit and wait for the caramel to cool to about 100F before adding butter.
I'm sure they tasted great tho!
Doing this as muffins is a great idea! Too bad it's not healthier!
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