Monday, October 20, 2014

sour cream cake with vanilla glaze and caramel sauce

This is my last bake from Carole Walter's "Great Cakes". The Cake Slice Bakers will be moving on to our new book from next month and I really cannot wait to start!

I have total admiration for Carole Walter and her Absolute the Best Yellow Cake will be on my list of favorites for years and years to come.

I guess I am just ready to move on to something different, and that is what our new baking book is. So do come back on the 20th of next month to take a look at whose book we shall be baking from for the year to come!
Okay, back to my last cake from "Great Cakes". I was given the freedom to choose which ever cake I like from the book and bake it. So since I've had great success with this Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt, and I wanted to play with my new Bundt pan, I thought I would go for a Sour Cream Cake.

Sour cream cakes are lovely. They are seldom dry, and the cakes are almost always tender. I topped my cake with a quick vanilla glaze as well as some caramel that I had made.
Here's how to make this deliciously moist cake.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until the mixture turns light and fluffy. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add vanilla extract. Mix just to combine.
The mixture will appear curdled. No matter how many times I bake, I still cannot stand the sight of a curdled mixture. EEK.
Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and the sour cream in the sequence flour-sour cream- flour-sour cream-flour, mixing until just incorporated after each addition.
The resulting batter is smooth and creamy.
Transfer the batter into a greased (and floured - I don't flour my Bundt pans but you may want to do so) Bundt pan and smooth the top as best as you can.
Bake at 175°C for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the deepest part emerges cleanly. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting it very gently onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the vanilla glaze by placing the icing sugar, boiling water, corn syrup and vanilla extract in a bowl.
Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Drizzle the vanilla glaze over the cake, along with the caramel sauce. The recipe for home made caramel sauce can be found here.
Cut yourself a (relatively) huge slice.
Go to your happy place and feel yourself getting happier!

RECIPE
Sour Cream Cake (Makes a 12-cup Bundt)
Adapted from "Great Cakes" by Carol Walter

Note: You can halve the recipe and bake in a 6-cup Bundt pan or a 9x5-inch loaf pan

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups (225g) cake flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (125g) caster sugar - I reduced this by 50%
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5ml) vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups (320g) sour cream

Method:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until the mixture turns light and fluffy. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until incorporated. The mixture will appear curdled.
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and the sour cream in the sequence flour-sour cream- flour-sour cream-flour, mixing until just incorporated after each addition. The resulting batter is smooth and creamy.
4. Transfer the batter into a greased (and floured - I don't flour my Bundt pans but you may want to do so) Bundt pan and smooth the top as best as you can.
5. Bake at 175°C for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the deepest part emerges cleanly. 6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting it very gently onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Drizzle the vanilla glaze over the cake, along with the caramel sauce. The recipe for home made caramel sauce can be found here.

Vanilla Glaze (Makes enough for one 12-cup Bundt cake)
Adapted from "Great Cakes" by Carol Walter

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups (187.5g) icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (30ml) boiling water
1 ½ teaspoons (7.5ml) corn syrup
¾ teaspoon (3.75ml) vanilla extract

Method:
1. Make the vanilla glaze by placing the icing sugar, boiling water, corn syrup and vanilla extract in a bowl.
2. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Always a pleasure to be baking with 



11 comments:

  1. to avoid curdling, make sure your egg in room temperature before use it. beat well the egg and then add slowly into your creaming mixture.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Thea! I am always in a hurry. I shall try your tip!

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  2. Diana, this cake looks so gorgeous. Heart shape with yummy glaze. Yumms!!

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  3. I've used sour cream or buttermilk in my baking some muffins, somehow I find that texture more moist and taste better. Your heart shape sour cream cake must be delicious !

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  4. I shall have to give the sour cream cake a try as I've never made one before. It looks really yummy and very pretty, love the tin :) Great job Diana!

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  5. Wow! Your new heart bundt pan is going on my wish list...along with a slice of your yummy looking cake, Diana =)

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  6. Sour cream cakes are always delicious. Love the heart shaped cake and that drool worthy drizzle. Clever to add caramel to the mix as a drizzle, too.

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  7. I'm trying hard to resist buying another pan but your cake is so pretty I'm really tempted. That double glaze is wonderful!

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  8. This cake couldn't have turned out any lovelier! My jaw just dropped and I stared at the glaze! Vanilla and caramel always a good pair!

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  9. Mmmmm, this sounds delcious and one which could be easily adapted to incorporate other flavours, which is the best sort really! Just like this though, it looks and sounds so satisfying =)

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