Twix Cake (makes two small cakes, serves 8-10, salted caramel recipe adapted from David Lebovitzs recipe, cake adapted from my regular yellow cake recipe) For the cake: 90g (about 3/4 cup) plain flour (all-purpose) 1 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp salt 60ml (1/4 cup) milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 60g (1/4 cup) sugar (preferably caster/superfine) 60g (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 medium egg For the caramel: (note, make sure you read David Lebovitzs post for tips if you are new to making caramel) 1 cup heavy cream (use pure/pouring cream in Australia) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean paste Heaped 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes 1/2 cup (160 g) light corn syrup or golden syrup (I used Lyle’s Golden Syrup) 1 cup (200 g) sugar 4 tbsp (60 g), butter, cubed, at room temperature For the milk chocolate ganache: 200g (7 oz) milk chocolate, finely chopped (please use good quality chocolate) 150ml (2/3 cup) pure/pouring cream (or heavy whipping cream in the US, min 35% fat unthickened) Optional: crushed Twix bars to place between the cake and caramel, to give it some crunch Grease and line two 20cm x 10cm (8x4inch) loaf tins (standard sized tin, it actually measured closer to 21x11cm when I checked it) with baking paper. If you only have one tin available, you will have to bake the cake first and then reuse the tin for the caramel. Prepare the cake; preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Mix milk and vanilla together in a measuring jug. Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until blended. Increase speed to high and beat for 2 mins or until pale and creamy. Reduce speed to medium, add egg and beat well until smooth. Alternately add flour mix and milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture (I did it by adding 1/3 of of the dry mixture followed by 1/2 of the wet mixture at a time). Beat until smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with a spatula. Pour batter into one of the prepared tins, smooth top with a spatula and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer into the centre comes out clean and the outside is golden. Cool in tin for 5 mins and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Prepare the caramel; Place cream, vanilla, salt and butter in a small saucepan and gently heat, stirring every now and then until the mixture just comes to the boil. Cover and set aside, keeping it warm while you prepare the sugar syrup. In a medium or large heavy based saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, place golden syrup and sugar and place on medium heat, stirring gently until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture is melted together and the sugar is evenly moistened, only stir is as necessary to keep it from getting any hot spots. Cook until the syrup reaches 150°C(300°F). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the warm cream mixture (take care as it will bubble up a lot) until it is smooth and even. Return to the heat and cook the mixture to 120°C(245°F). Remove the pan from the heat and stir until smooth, then pour into the other prepared tin. Leave to cool completely (or chill for about half an hour to allow it to set). Cut the cake and caramel layers into two long halves, and place the caramel layers on top of the cake (you may need to trim off some of the caramel to get the proportions right). Place cakes on a cake stand or plate, I recommend placing the stand on a large piece of baking paper to catch any chocolate that might drip off in the next part. Prepare the ganache; place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and gently heat cream in a small saucepan until it just comes to the boil, then pour hot cream over the chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Using a whisk, gently combine mixture until it is smooth (if there are still lumps, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until they are gone). Set aside to cool, when it has returned to room temperature and is thickened but still easily pourable, use a spoon or measuring cup to pour over the top of each cake, coating each one with a thin, smooth layer. You can use a spatula to make sure it covers the entire cake. With the remaining ganache, wait until it has cooled slightly more and then drizzle thin strips of ganache (I used a whisk) over the tops of each cake to create a rippling effect. Scrape off excess ganache from the cake stand with a spatula and clean off with paper towels. Chill in the fridge until the ganache has set, about half an hour. You can keep the cake chilled in the fridge, but you will need to take it out of the fridge for about 30mins to an hour to let the caramel soften a bit before serving.
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 08:37:00 +0000
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