Ooey-Gooey Caramel Layer Cake

If I've learned anything (the hard way) in the past two years, it's that sometimes, in the land of gluten-free kitchen escapades - things don't always turn out quite the way you imagine.

You see a luxuriously _______ (insert impossible to achieve adjective here ie: puffy, crisp, tall) baked good on a cooking show or blog and think, "I can make that gluten-free!" Well ... you can ... but it may just look a little less luxurious.

Thankfully, in all my "failed attempts", the creations that weren't so aesthetically pleasing always still tasted DREAMY. For example, I once ate a whole batch of self-dubbed "anorexic mints" after I swore I could re-create the classic Girl Scout cookie. They were too delicious to share too ugly to show anyone.

Today, I was once again reminded of this painful lesson after making Mathew's Birthday Cake.

If you are licking your lips, or thinking, "...that doesn't look so bad!" - know this: those are not pancakes, up there in that photo. They are not supposed to look anything like pancakes. They are supposed to be three tall fluffy layers of baked joy. When I got home, Mat modified my note to include - "It's so ugly, it's cute!", Which is what I say to describe warty pumpkins, or animals with smushed-in faces.

Maybe if you didn't know what it was supposed to look like, it might really not look so bad... but, you must. whamp whamp :(

"OH YA?! Well, I was in a hurry!" "Um, and I didn't have heavy cream!" "The directions weren't very clear!" "Gluten-Free stuff always looks like that!"*

*No, it doesn't.

I sometimes get defensive. 

The good news is, the old adage is correct. Size doesn't matter. My cake, despite appearances, tasted heavenly! Wedding cake-heavenly! ... Oh ya, and the birthday boy liked it too! Half of it was already missing by the time I got home from work - and his birthday isn't even over yet! Just don't tell him that it was inspired by a Paula Deen recipe... Y'All know what that means - BUTTER!

Ooey-Gooey Caramel Layer Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup butter (room temperature) 

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 cups gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup milk (or rice or soy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup butter (room temperature)

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup milk (or rice or soy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease three 9" cake pans. (If you have something smaller, this is the time to use them. My gluten-free batter hardly rose at all.) Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time beating well in-between each addition. Add the baking soda. Add the milk and flour alternately, in small increments. Mix thoroughly. Divide the batter equally among the three prepared pans. Bake approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

For the filling:

While the cake is cooking, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted - about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool!*

When the cakes are done, remove from oven, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Flip the first tier over and onto your cake plate, then pierce with a fork all over the surface. Pour and spread 1/3 of the filling over the cake. Repeat this process for the second and third cake layer.

*Allow the filling, and cake layers to cool! The filling will thicken upon cooling - which is a good thing! Pouring hot thin filling over hot cakes (haha, "hot cakes", 'cause they look like hotcakes) will produce a runny sad cake sitting in a pool of caramel. Using cooled, thick filling will produce gooey "controlled" drips. This will make a cake that looks like you know what you're doing ... confession: I did not do this.*

For the frosting:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and - little by little, stir in the cream and brown sugar. Beware of splashing! Bring to a boil, and pour into a mixing bowl, or the bowl of your electric mixer. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add vanilla, and powdered sugar. Beat until it looks spreadable ... like frosting, duh!

Spread onto cake carefully, and make it all ugly pretty. (I'm still a little bit bitter.)

Put it into the refrigerator! If the cake is too warm the filling and frosting may continue to ooze. You do not want this, remember?

What I learned / Things to remember:

1. Follow the directions!
2. When making a gluten-full recipe into a gluten-free recipe, only substitute what you absolutely must. If there are too many uncontrolled variables you are setting yourself up for disaster.
3. Think about what properties gluten-free things often have, which are un-favorable. Make smart decions about how to counteract them. Wont stick together? Add Xantham Gum. Wont rise? Add baking soda.
4. Use really good flour. Bob's Red Mill products have yet to fail me. However, gluten-free flours tend to work best when combined with one another. Baking mixes work well, but can be costly and sometimes include things you may not like the taste of. (ie: garbanzo beans ... good in hummus, bad in cookies.) If something calls for 3 cups, use 1 cup of three different flours.
5. Since I am being taught the same lesson over and over, maybe I should change my methodology. Although a beautiful layer cake is impressive and enticing, when 3 gluten-free layers don't even stand 3" tall it leaves a bit to the imagination. Try being practical, and make a sheet cake, or cupcakes using the same ingredients.

How to be really happy, even when you make something super-gross looking:

1. Turn on your favorite Pandora station really loud.
2. Dance a lot around the kitchen while cooking.
3. Lick the spoon.
4. Lick the spoon.
5. Lick the spoon.
6. Feel sick.
7. Ignore step 6.
8. Write a cute little note to put next to your ugly food, and adorn it with a frown-y face. This will make whoever is forced to eat it feel bad for you, and compliment you a LOT.

Time to eat! XOXO

Elyse