Caramel Cake (Horse Cake!)

This caramel cake recipe is sentimental to me. It’s the cake that brings back memories of happiness and hope. In 2018, it was my Dad’s birthday. It wasn’t just any birthday, it was his 70th. Over the past four years, my Dad had undergone cancer treatments with many uncertainties of his survival, so we wanted to make this a really special day.

I told my son, Oliver, that we were going to visit my parents to celebrate my Dad or fondly known as Grandgre’s (my son’s name for him) birthday. I asked him what kind of cake that he wanted to make and without hesitation, “A horse cake!”. I found a horse cake mold and we were ready to create this masterpiece. Needless to say, it looked nothing like a horse, but tasted so yummy! My Dad even told me that this was the best caramel cake he had tasted. The following year, my Dad went into remission! This cake will be an annual celebration of my Dad’s birthday and continued hope for a healthy life for years to come.

Cake Ingredients

1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature (227g)
1⁄3 cup neutral oil
2 1⁄2 cups of granulated sugar, extra for dusting the pan
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 cups of cake flour, sifted (436g)
2 teaspoons of baking powder (7g)
1⁄2 teaspoon of baking soda (1g)
1⁄2 teaspoon salt (2g)
1 cup sour cream (243g)

Caramel Icing Ingredients

1 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cans evaporated milk, 12 ounces each
2 cup granulated sugar (434g)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Cake Directions

1. Preheat the oven 350F degrees.
2. Cream butter, oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 7-10 mins. Make sure to scrape down the bowl occasionally to incorporate the ingredients.
3. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and yolks one at a time until incorporated.
4. Add in vanilla extract and mix.
5. Sift the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium sized mixing bowl.
6. Turn the mixer on slow speed. Add the flour mixture alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour, until just mixed.
7. Butter three 9 inch rounds and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Dust the pan with sugar, tapping out the excess.
8. Pour the batter into the rounds evenly.
9. Bake the cakes for 25-30 mins until lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack for 10 mins. Then, run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn the cake over to cool completely.

Caramel Icing Directions

1. Over medium heat, add butter, evaporated milk and sugar to a medium saucepan until everything has melted.
2. Stir periodically for about 1 1⁄2 hours. You want to watch the entire time to make sure it doesn’t burn. When it is ready, the icing will start to thicken, coat the back of a spoon and become a golden brown color (see the video for the color).
3. Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla extract.
4. Cool for about 20-30 mins to allow the icing to thicken before icing the cake.