– 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter – 2 cups (400g) sugar – 4 large eggs, room temperature – 3 cups (342g) cake flour – 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder – ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda – ½ teaspoon (3g) salt – 1 ¼ cups (296g) buttermilk – ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil – 1 Tablespoon (12g) vanilla extract – 1 stick (114g) unsalted butter – 2 cups (234g) light – 1 cup (242g) milk – ½ teaspoon (4g) salt – 1 ½ teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract – 2 Tablespoons (36g) light corn syrup – 1 stick (114g) unsalted butter, softened – 5 cups (585g) powdered sugar – 1 ½ cups Homemade Caramel Sauce – ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
Grease and flour three 8x2 inch round pans and preheat oven at 350 degrees.Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for 30 seconds in a medium bowl. Set aside.To another basin, add buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
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Set aside.Mix butter in mixer bowl at medium speed until creamy. Add sugar slowly and mix on medium speed for 3–5 minutes until lightened and fluffy. After adding each egg, mix until the yolk is no longer yellow.
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Flour and buttermilk should be added alternately, commencing and finishing with dry ingredients.Overmixing cake batter on medium speed is bad.
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Bake 25–30 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with few crumbs. Leave after 10 minutes.A caramel sauce.Butter should melt over medium heat in a deep saucepan to avoid boilover.
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After melting butter, add brown sugar, milk, salt, vanilla and light corn syrup.Avoid pan sticking by turning the mixture slowly. When the mixture boils, lower the heat and cover the saucepan. Simmer 5–6 minutes.
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Check the saucepan occasionally to avoid boiling. A saucepan lid steams sugar crystals off sides.Put in a heatproof basin after the timer. While thin, caramel thickens as it cools. Cool and use in icing. Using refrigeration speeds up the process.
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Add softened butter to bowl and whisk until smooth. Add half the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Gradually add 1 ½ cups caramel sauce and remaining powdered sugar.
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Increase speed to medium and mix for 3–4 minutes until frosting is thoroughly blended and creamy. Finally, mix for 1-2 minutes on the lowest setting to minimise air bubbles.
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Add the first vanilla cake layer to the cake plate or pedestal.Piped caramel buttercream around the cake layer with a disposable piping bag with a clip.Stir ¼ cup caramel into the dam on top of the cake layer (taste to adjust).
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Spread caramel frosting on caramel glaze. Instead of piping buttercream onto the filling, spread the next cake layer with frosting and place it frosting-side down on the first. Put on more cake layers.
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Chilling hardens everything up for the final application of frosting so the layers don't shift during decorating.Add the final icing and swirl the buttercream with a little offset spatula. Finished with a buttercream shell border.
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