This month we made the cinnamon pudding cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman.
My first attempt came out very dry and not nice at all. I then tried again and reduced the cooking time and it was a big improvement. However, it wasn't a cake I would particularly cook again. Although I liked the idea of the cinnamon cake with the lovely topping of gooey caramel, I have had far nicer ones than this. It is simple and quick to make but I think any little extra effort to make a more traditional sticky toffee pudding is worth it. Some of the cake slice bakers rave about it so if you fancy the idea, maybe you should try it and see if it is for you - have a look at The Cake Slice Blogroll to see some adjustments that others made to improve it. In fact, one of our members, Felice emailed Lauren Chattman about it and got a very friendly reply. She suggested that you could increase the topping ingredients by 50% to make more caramel or add an egg to the cake mix to make a richer cake.
I have just looked through my photos and found that they are blurred and horrible. I wonder if my feelings about the cake affected the effort put into the photography?
Recipe -
Serves 9.
Ingredients -
For the caramel topping -
1 cup plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
For the cake -
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method -
Make the topping -
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM 4.
2. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (Not a loose bottomed one like I did the first time! Of course, several minutes into cooking I hear the caramel start to pour out onto the oven floor - doh!)
3. Combine the brown sugar, water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Set aside to cool.
Make the cake -
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 mins.
3. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the bowl. Add 1/2 of the milk and vanilla. Add another 1/3 of the flour. Add the remaining milk and the remaining flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 30s.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Pour the topping over the batter.
5.Carefully transfer to the oven and bake until set, 45 - 50 mins. Now, my second attempt I only cooked for 35 minutes and it was much less dry. The other cake slice bakers seem to have found that this is a better time for cooking, too.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, invert it onto a large rimmed serving platter, and serve warm.
7. Let leftover squares cool completely and store in a cake keeper or airtight container at room temperature for up to one day or in the refrigerator for 3 days.
