as promised

remember this post about a salted caramel chocolate cake?

well, it was as delicious as it looked, so here is the recipe, as promised:

{salted-caramel six-layer chocolate cake}

thanks to martha stewart magazine

for the cake:

unsalted butter, room temperature, for pans

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

3 cups granulated sugar

1-1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbs baking soda

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

coarse salt

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1-1/2 cups warm water

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs safflower oil (i used vegetable oil)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

for the caramel:

4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

2 cups heavy cream

coarse salt

2 sticks cold unslated butter, cut into tablespoons

for the frosting:

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs cocoa powder

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs warm water

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

coarse salt

1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled

garnish: flaked sea salt

follow these directions to make this delicious cake! i will admit that i had to make the caramel twice-- let's just say it's better to stay close to the caramel while it is cooking on the stove instead of walking away! i am a terrible chemist when it comes to cooking/baking and tend to be more of a "oh, that's close enough" kind of cook, but with this recipe, you need to follow the directions closely. you'll be glad you did. i was.

you might just feel like a super-star baker after putting this together-- i think before this the fanciest cake i ever made was a red velvet, so i was definitely proud of myself and absolutely pleased that everyone enjoyed the taste as much as i enjoyed making it! happy baking!