I’m pretty much a sucker for any treat that involves the words “caramel” or “caramelized.” I can’t help myself. Whether it’s chocolate with caramel, or caramelized onions, or coconut-caramel cookies, or anything topped with caramel sauce, I’m fairly certain to be on board. So when I was sifting through the annals of Lottie and Doof and came across this favorite cake of his, my culinary interest was immediately piqued.

And, as luck would have it, as I was pondering my next foray into the world of cake, I had on hand a fair bit – a ton, actually – of whole-wheat pastry flour that was sent to me by the good folks at the Missouri Grain Project. The Project is a worker-owned collective that mills grains grown at the Terra Bella Farm, also in Missouri. Although Lottie and Doof’s recipe doesn’t call for any type of wheat flour, I thought a mixture of this nice, flavorful pastry flour and regular ol’ cake flour would create a nice, nutty-but-still-fluffy finished product. So how about you come along for the ride, eh?

mixing fixing futzing etc.

Simple things are so heartening, which is definitely part of the allure of this particular concoction: a fluffy buttermilk cake topped with a simple caramel sauce. No layers, no fussy frosting, no surprises or twists. The lack of complications was also inuring to my benefit as Kenan and I were due at a small gathering in the evening, and I had decided to undertake this little escapade at the last minute. So I started in the late afternoon, measuring and laying out ingredients: flour, bakings powder and soda (granted, that is certainly not correct, but I like it), butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and buttermilk. I sifted together the dry ingredients, creamed the butter and sugar, added the eggs, and then mixed in the buttermilk and the dry ingredients. The only adjustments I made to the recipe were to use a bit of brown sugar in addition to white, as well as the aforementioned partial flour substitution. When everything was mixed together and ready to rumble, I poured the batter into a cake pan and popped it in the oven. And it baked up really, really beautifully. The wheat flour seemed to impede the rising a tiny bit, but the cake still turned out quite fluffy and soft, and had turned a gorgeous, nut-brown color. I was very excited to eat it, but, like a good bringer of treats, I kept my sweet tooth under control and refrained from tasting until I had brought the cake to the party.*

Once my cake friend had cooled off, I started on the glaze, which is also deliciously simple. I heated some sugar, cream and a pinch of salt in a saucepan until they reached candy temperature and poured the sauce over the cake. By the time we had walked over to our friends’ apartment, the glaze was set and the cake was looking shiny and sticky and very tempting.

* Okay, actually, I may have “accidentally” shaved a tiny, teensy bit off the top just to make sure it wasn’t, like, poisoned or something, but you can keep a secret, right?

oh my goodness.

Waiting for cake-eating time was excruciating. First we chatted and caught up with our friends, and then we ate dinner, and then there was the obligatory holding period in which everyone (or at least me) was wanting to eat cake but not quite ready to own up to it. But then, finally, it was time for dessert. And, I have to say, holy handbaskets, this cake was really, really good. Seriously. I absolutely understand why the dude over at Lottie and Doof says he doesn’t share it with anyone: it’s fluffy and chewy and not too sweet and, most importantly in my opinion, there’s just something that feels cozy and heartening about it. I was also really pleased that I had decided to use some wheat flour; it added just enough of character and body to spice things up a bit, taste-wise. So thank you, Lottie and Doof, for alerting the world to the existence of such cakely deliciousness.

And you can partake in the aforesaid deliciousness, too, you know, just below the fold.

fantastic buttermilk cake with caramel glaze

buttermilk cake with caramel claze.
(adapted from Gourmet, via Lottie and Doof)

for the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a square of parchment paper cut to fit exactly and then butter the parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the work bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium speed until pale, light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Keeping the speed a medium, add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the buttermilk until just combined (don’t worry if the mixture looks granular or curdled). Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working with a wooden spoon, add the flour in three additions, mixing just to combine after each addition.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles (note: I didn’t do this, and things turned out okay, but you should give it a shot). Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a wire rack, removing and discarding the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake. Flip the cake right-side up and cool completely, about 1 hour.

for the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium (not high) heat, bring the heavy cream, brown sugar, corn syrup (optional), and salt to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Continue to boil over medium heat until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on a candy thermometer (the glaze should be thickened, but not hard), 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Place the cake on the rack in a shallow baking pan and pour the hot glaze over the top, allowing the glaze to run down the sides of the cake. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

photos by the unbearably wonderful Kenan.