Suckered by Pinterest
I was suckered by Pinterest...again!
A baker, a trusted baker, said she'd found the perfect white cake recipe; she promised I'd never have to look again. It was her own recipe, one she had adapted from a well-known source, that she promised she had made much better. With that kind of hype, and her trusted status to back her up, I copied the recipe off and lip-smacked my way through making a promise a reality.
Meh.
I will not be using that recipe again.
But.....not all was lost.
I did a little adapting of my own, doncha know.
I took the blah cake and made it my bitch. (whoa. language, granny!)
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First, I decided to super-charge the filling, so I used Nestle La Lechera Caramel Sauce:
image source: Amazon
I live in South Texas and this product is plentiful, but from what I understand it may be a regional item. You will have to trust me (oh, the irony) that it is worth the $5 that Amazon sells it for if you can't find it on your grocer's shelf; ORDER HERE. FYI: If I could no longer get this product, I would buy it from Amazon. Yes, I love it that much.
* A reminder: OMT! uses Amazon referral links. When you do your shopping through the Amazon links on this page, you support the blog at no cost to yourself. Just click on the Amazon link, then shop as usual. It’s much appreciated!
#1) Fill my meh cake with caramel:
Here's a quick tutorial ( it's, um, a ridiculous video...but helpful!):
#2) Frosted my cake with a salted vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe at end of post), chilled for 10 minutes, drizzled with the remaining caramel and then ran my frosting spatula through it to marble. As the very last step, I sprinkled the top of the cake with a medium grind of sea salt, to offset the caramel sweetness.
#3) Took pic after pic after pic to show you the yumminess:
And more:
Need I say it:
YUM!
Promised recipe (I typically use recipes as a guideline, so if you need exact measurements for your frosting, this is not the place to be!):
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 5-6 cups sifted confectioners sugar (depending on if you desire a thinner or thicker frosting)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3-5 tablespoons heavy cream (depending on if you desire a thinner or thicker frosting)
- 1 can Dolche De Leche (caramel)
Instructions
- Beat butter with a mixer until it reaches a creamy consistency.
- Add vanilla and salt and mix well.
- Add sugar, on low speed, in 1 cup increments, while alternately adding 1 tablespoon of cream, at a time, as necessary.
- Mix until fluffy.
- Use approx. ½-2/3rds of canned caramel as cake filling.
- Frost cake, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Once frosting/cake is thoroughly chilled, drizzle remaining caramel over cake and spread in a marbleized pattern.
The cake itself was a disappointment; the salted vanilla frosting, not so much.
Come on, I can't be the only one sucked in by a beautiful Pinterest photo only to be disappointed with my result. Gotta story you'd like to share?
WOW, that looks amazing. I will be pinning this to my CAKE board. 🙂
If you would like to share with us there is a new linky party posted every Monday.
Thanks!
I was intrigued by your title. I found you over at the Sassy Little Lady's Party http://www.sassylittlelady.com/blog/ and I had to come see. This looks fabulous. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I crave that frosting every time I see the pic!
Oh no - I have all these grand recipes pinned at Pinterest - not that I've had any time to try them as the grandkids are keeping me extra busy this year. Then again, that may have been a good thing. 🙂 Thanks for the warning. ANOTHER great excuse to put off cooking. hehehehehehe 🙂
But, but, but....the frosting is YUM!
The icing and filling sounds so good, I love caramel! Good idea to try to improve the cake. Found your blog through show and Tell Saturday.
~Sarah Lynn @ Sarah Lynn's Sweets
I could eat that caramel straight from the can...
This caramel frosting looks so good! I am sorry the cake was not so good...I hate that! It is easy to see a picture and be convinced that the taste is equally as wonderful as the picture. Thanks for sharing this frosting recipe:)
Enjoy the frosting!
I never ever follow a recipe to a tee. I always find it needs tweaking to taste just right to me. Your cake sure looks good! Best wishes, Tammy
It DOES look good, but sadly only the frosting was delish.
You know, I have been thinking about this for a few days (haha). Sometimes I think there are little differences in each baker/cook - subtle things like shaking down a cup, heaping, oven temps, altitude - that can change things. Maybe the cake turned out beautifully for her. I only say this because I have a few recipes that turn out amazing for other people and no matter how many times I have tried them, they have failed miserably for me.
I also thought about that (it's important, dang it!), and have also made amazing cakes that turns out average for others. I guess if she hadn't talked it up so much it might have been different. But, "the last white cake recipe you'll ever need" speaks to excellence. Apparently, I'm still carrying my grudge. Ha!
I cannot imagine anything that delicious not tasting good, I bet it was good! 🙂
Visiting today from Let's Get Social Sunday.
The cake was iffy. The frosting was delish!
Okay let me quickly change horses in mid-stream for our personal Pin-Fail. Not a food item. My daughter was so excited to host a "Welcome Summer" party last June. The "hillbilly waterbed" she attempted never delivered the thrill of happy kids bouncing away on a water/food color/glitter filled surface constructed from 2 plastic drop sheets duct taped together. Was afraid to ask what she spent on this leaking no-fun disaster, but I'm not afraid to warn you grandmas out there - stay away from the hillbilly waterbed recipe! In retrospect, the title alone should have had us running from it!
Hahahaha! Laughing (crying?!) with you. Damn our Pinterest Fails!
I do love caramel....:)
OMGosh, me too.