Toffee Layer Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream

Makes: 1, 3 inch layer 8 inch cake Prep time: 1 hour Bake time : 23 to 25 minutes

Ingredients

Caramel for the buttercream

1/2 cup Dixie Crystals brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon Nielsen Massey vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cake

1 and 1/2 cups unsalted, softened butter

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup full fat sour cream

1 cup Dixie Crystals granulated sugar

1 cup Dixie Crystals brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup toffee crushed into bits for the cake batter, plus more for the shards and bits on top of the cake. The shards and bits on top are optional, but I think they make the cake look so pretty. You will need about 3 cups total milk chocolate toffee pieces.

jarred caramel sauce for drizzling over the top of the cake, if desired

 Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream

Caramel sauce made earlier

16 ounces full fat cream cheese

12 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter

3 and 1/2 cups Dixie Crystals confectioners sugar

pinch of salt

Directions

Before making the caramel sauce, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter, flour, and line 3, 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper.

Set them aside.

Have 2 wire racks ready for the cakes to cool too!

Make the caramel sauce for the buttercream

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt the butter and the brown sugar over medium heat.

Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.  This will take a few minutes.

Remove from heat and add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt.

Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to firm up a bit and cool completely before incorporating into the buttercream.

Make the cake

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the butter, brown and white sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat until fully incorporated and fluffy.

Now, add in the vanilla, sour cream oil, salt and baking powder. Blend well.

Alternate the flour and milk until the batter is smooth and creamy, but be very careful not to over mix the batter. This results in a tough cake.

Fold in the 1 cup of crushed toffee pieces by hand.

Divide the batter equally into the 3 cake pans. ( I used an ice cream scoop to count the number of scoops in each pan so that they came out the same).

Smooth the top of each pan filled with batter.

Bake the pans for 10 minutes each, then rotate the pans.

Bake for another 13 to 15 minutes until the tops of the cakes are a light golden brown and the cakes spring back in the middle.

Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes and turn them out onto wire racks.

Chill the cake layers in the fridge so they will be completely cool when you frost them.

Make the buttercream

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Add in the cooled caramel and mix until completely incorporated.

Slowly add in the confectioners sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread equally over the cooled layers.

I always recommend a crumb coat first before fully frosting the cake.

When the cake has been completely frosted, use the leftover to pipe rosettes on the top and bottom of the cake.

Place broken shards of the toffee on top of the cake, as shown in the photos above.

Sprinkle toffee bits in the middle of the center of the cake, if you are decorating it like I did!!

Keep the cake in the fridge until you are ready to cut it.

Cut and wrap individual pieces of cake in wax paper and foil if you have any leftovers. The pieces should be eaten within a month.