Mr. C. and I had the very great pleasure of spending Thanksgiving with his 2 sisters (Nancy and Katie), their spouses (Paul and Rick), and Paul and Nancy’s two daughters Erin and Dana and their husbands (Gideon and Jason) and Gideon and Erin’s delightful daughter Clara (almost 8). The event was held in Pullman, Washington at Dana and Jason’s home. Both Jason and Dana are on the WSU faculty.

Dana, with Veterinary Microbiology & Pathology, is a PhD scientist with cross disciplinary training in microbiology, immunology, and entomology. While Jason is a PhD research assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, investigating Anaplasma – a pathogen spread by ticks that infects humans and large mammals. As Jason so aptly put it “Dana and I will tell a brick wall about our research if it stands still for 15 minutes, and we are definitely each other’s constant advisors and critics. Our shared interests in microbiology was definitely something we connected over and continues to be a part of our shared life.”

So, as you can imagine, we had a wonderful time. And, we didn’t even have to pet any ticks! What we did get to do was converse, cook and eat together, laugh a great deal, and do all the normal things that families who get along very well do to entertain themselves. So, a most pleasant 5 day get-away for us. Of course, the first day’s travel over Snoqualmie pass was not at all enjoyable. But I won’t go into that because I am still a bit terrorized by the whole ordeal!

In preparation for leaving to spend Thanksgiving away from home, I decided to make this cake, and a couple other food items to take along. Especially for the first evening since I wouldn’t be around during the day to contribute to any of the meal preparation. I figured bringing some goodies was the least I could do. So, along with this cake I took along some breakfast bread, candied ginger shortbread cookies, and 2 appetizer spreads. But I must say, this cake was my star contribution.

I started with my favorite yellow cake recipe, swapped out a bit of granulated sugar with brown sugar, and added a wee bit of caramel extract. Then I prepared a simple buttercream frosting containing some of Mr. Cs caramel sauce that he always has on hand for caramel lattes to give the frosting a light caramel flavor. Yum! It worked. And the cake had been very easy to make, and the frosting was a piece of cake. You know what I mean! The frosting was also easy to build. And the best part. The cake did not have to be refrigerated. Which is a darn good thing since there was absolutely no refrigerator space available by the time we arrived on the scene. (Can you ever really have enough refrigerator space? I don’t think so either!)

Well, that’s it for today. Sorry I haven’t posted for a few days, but I have a very good excuse. I was having way too much fun! May you too be blessed with having way too much fun with family and friends during this holiday season.

Peace and love to all.  

For the cake:

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature  

⅓ c. vegetable oil

2 c. granulated sugar

½ c. light brown sugar, packed

6 lg. eggs, room temperature

2 lg. egg yolks, room temperature

5 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp. caramel extract, opt. (I use Watkins brand)

3 c. fluffed or sifted cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 c. sour cream

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter, oil, and sugars on high until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. (Do not skip this step. Very important.)

Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time until well incorporated. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla and caramel extracts and mix until well combined.

In a medium sized bowl whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together.   

At low speed, alternate adding in the flour mixture and sour cream just until combined. Do not over mix.

Grease and flour 1 9×13-inch cake pan (glass is best) and 1 8-inch round cake pan or 3 8 or 9-inch round cake pans. (If you plan to remove the cakes from the pans before frosting them, then grease and flour the pans as directed above and line the pans with parchment paper sprayed very lightly with cooking spray.)

Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Even off the batter with an offset spatula. (See directions for frosting a three-layer cake below.)

Bake the 9×13-inch pan in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the middle of the pan comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Bake the 8 or 9-inch round pan or pans for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the middle of the pan comes out clean. Again, do not over bake.   

Allow cakes that you plan to remove from the baking pan or pans to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before gently removing the cake from the pan. If using parchment paper, gently peel it off and allow the cake to cool completely on a pretty cake plate before frosting.

For the 9×13-inch cake, just remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting. After frosting, keep covered at room temperature.

For the frosting:

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

⅓ c. + 3 T. caramel topping, plus more to drizzle over cakes

pinch of kosher salt

4 c. powdered sugar

whole milk or heavy cream, if needed

flaky sea salt, for garnish

Beat the room temperature butter using a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment until soft and fluffy. Add the vanilla, caramel topping, and kosher salt, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Add the powdered sugar on low speed. Add milk or cream a few drops at a time until the frosting is light and fluffy and to your desired consistency.

Frost the cakes. When the frosted cake looks perfect to you, drizzle on as much caramel topping as you want. (If the caramel topping doesn’t drizzle easily, warm it up a bit in your microwave.) After the drizzle is in place, lightly sprinkle on a bit of flaky salt.

How to create a beautiful 3-layer cake:

Remove pans from oven and place on cooling racks for 10 minutes. Then gently remove cakes from pans and allow the cake to cool completely before icing.  

Place one of the cakes upside down on your cake plate. Spread frosting over layer. (Not too much.) Place the second layer on the first layer and spread frosting. (Again, not too much. Add the top layer and frost the top and if you would like, the sides of the cake too. Then drizzle on some caramel sauce and sprinkle with flaky salt.

Please note: if your cakes are rounded at the top, slice off a bit of the cake to make the top flat before frosting. If the cake layers start sliding around, stick a couple of long picks through the layers to keep the cake together. Store at room temperature.