Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Caramel-Cashew-Topped Brownie Cake

Being the sucker that I am for anything caramel, I couldn't pass up the chance to make a brownie cake topped with homemade caramel and nuts. The nuts in question were supposed to be peanuts but, my apologies to all of you peanut lovers out there, I was not going to make this cake with salted peanuts.


I thought about pecans, which would have been lovely, I'm sure, but I got a flash when I saw a tin of cashews at the grocery store. "Aha! Yes, cashews, that's it!" I love it when that happens. Anyways, I decided to halve the recipe because, again, knowing how much I love caramel, making the whole cake would have been dangerous. I even bought a few mini-springform pans for the occasion. Ah, how nice it is to have an excuse to shop for kitchen stuff!

Once my cutie cakes were baked and out of the oven, I noticed a little something was amiss. They both had huge craters in the middle! Hmmm, Dorie warns about the cake forming a small crater upon cooling but this was not a small crater! OK, moving on to the caramel, I must give you one word of advice: don't let yourself be distracted while the sugar is caramelizing! It will turn from a beautiful amber color to an awful burnt brown in a matter of seconds. If that happens, don't even bother with the cream and butter, just start over with a new batch of sugar.

My second batch of sugar, water and corn syrup was watched much more closely and became the gorgeous caramel called for in the recipe. The crater-cakes were then filled with spoonfuls of cashews and caramel and left alone to rest. The caramel wasn't runny at all once it had a chance to set, but it wasn't hard either, just the perfect texture. All my taste testers were in awe of the cake and so was I.

Another great Tuesdays with Dorie! Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy chose this knock out cake this week so you must visit her for the recipe!

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53 comments:

Isabelle Lambert said...

c'est superbe lyb :) et c'est vraiment cute en petits gâteaux

chocolatechic said...

Cashews........oh dear heavens.......next time I will use them

Anonymous said...

Your caramel looks divine and I love cashews. Come over to my website and see the disaster my kitchen produced this week. I'm not meant to cook caramel I think.

Jules Someone said...

Adorable! And I love cashews as well. Mmmmm.

Mary Ann said...

What a great combination- cashews would have been so delicious on this cake! I love your minis! Mine developed a huge crater too, but that just left more room for the caramel!

Anonymous said...

That crater actually served as a nice bed for your caramel and cashew topping! Gorgeous!

Sarah said...

the crater looks like the perfect resting place for the caramel and cashews! great job!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Obviously the crater is to hold all that delicious caramel and cashews. It looks totally yummy1

Anonymous said...

Meow, those cashews look amazingly delicious. Very nice pick.

Sandie said...

I agree with the others---that crater is a gift from the baking gods to hold more gooey, delicious caramel!

CB said...

I love cashews! I totally should have done cashews. I debated between peanuts, cashews and pecans but I finally decided to go the traditional route. It was good but I bet the cashews were great!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

Anonymous said...

Dang. I bet cashews were intense and wonderful on this cake. Great work.

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

Oh wow, this really looks great! Love the cashew idea!!

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

vibi said...

Bioutifoul!
J'aurais du penser moi aussi, à faire des petits gâteaux, parce qu'avec un gros... j'en ai eu pour des jours, et c'était bien, bien sucré... peut-être même un peu trop à mon goût!
BRAVO!

Ginny said...

Great choice! So gooey and delicious!!!

Amanda said...

Yours look so fabulous!! I am so excited, I finished mine and it was my first recipe with TWD as I am a newbie :) I had to omit the nuts, but it was wonderful just the same.

Engineer Baker said...

I'm a fan of the crater - more room for caramel :) And I love the idea of cashews, great job!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Yours looks so good. I made it but the cake was dry. Don't know what happened.

Unknown said...

Beautiful little cakes, craters and all!

Elle said...

I can't even tell you how amazing that looks. I want some of it right now! Perfect call on the cashews, by the way!

Anonymous said...

Yum! your caramel looks absolutely divine. Cashews are never a bad choice either.

Anonymous said...

being allergic to peanuts, it's nice to see a different nut being used (though dangerous - now i have no excuse not to make this cake myself)

looks sooo fantastic - beautiful job!

Anonymous said...

That looks so good it hurts my teeth! ha!

Mari said...

Yum, I bet the cashews tasted great! I'm with you on the peanuts, not my thing at all.

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

I love the crater! :) Much more room for the caramel and cashews! Looks wonderful!

Tammy said...

wow, your cakes looks so delicious!! thanks for making my pick!

Anonymous said...

Your cake is so cute! That is a huge crater, though!

MaryBeth said...

This looks amazing, I love chocolate and caramel together. It really is a nice change to see my favorite nut being used in a dessert.

Rachel said...

The crater holds the caramel perfectly! And I bet cashews were delicious in this...mmmmm.

Prudy said...

Cashews would make this cake like one of my favorite See's candy pieces. Lovely!

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

Just rename them Caramel Crater Cakes and then the crater is what makes the cake! Looks so delicious.

Susan @ SGCC said...

Definitely better with cashews! Your little cakes look great and that caramel is perfect! Well done!

Pamela said...

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who did the caramel more than once. It still wasn't perfect, but I'll get there. Love the addition of the cashews! Sinful!

PheMom said...

I really wanted to do cashews. It looks awesome! Incredible job as always!

Bria said...

Cashews is a good idea! Next time i'll definitely use a different nut...

Marthe said...

Wow, your cake looks so good!! My caramel was still quite runny, bit very tasty!

Linda said...

Fantastic idea with the cashews, and with really beautiful and delicious looking results!

Anonymous said...

I love cashews! Your cakes look delicious!

Cherie
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kimberly salem said...

what a beautiful cake! the cashews sound great. i actually like the crater in the middle to hold the caramel -- maximum caramel concentration! :)

grace said...

the cake is like an edible bowl for the caramel. in other words, it's perfect. :)

Cathy said...

Cashews -- now there is a seriously great idea! I am starting to think that Dorie intends for those craters to be there to hold all of the nuts & caramel? Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Your cake looks perfect!

Heather B said...

My mom would love your version! She is a cashew lover! Great job!

Helene said...

Great choice to go with the cashews! Had to be tasty!!

Aimée said...

Looks amazing, Lyb! I agree, it's always fun to by a new kitchen toy and your little pans were a good investment.

ChichaJo said...

Those pictures are worth a thousand words! That looks divine!!!

suzanne cabrera said...

Oh yum. I think I'm gaining weight just looking at these photos.

Gretchen Noelle said...

I understand about the craters! Your caramel looks delicious!!

Anonymous said...

This looks great! I love the addition of cashews. The mini version is so cute.

Heather said...

ohh those are lovely! the cashews sound teriffic!!

Shari said...

Great idea to use cashews!!

Annette said...

Looks delicious! Cashews sound like a great combination with chocolate and caramel.

rhid said...

These look gorgeous! I remember attempting the big version, but I much like the smaller ones. Really nice!

Dazy said...

I'm making this tonight. I think I'll try to shoot it, but I don't think it will be as pretty as your picture!