Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins

I saw a show on Food Network last night called, The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  The owner of Sprinkles said she had these muffins somewhere that were coated in cinnamon-sugar and it was the best thing she has ever eaten.  It even inspired her to make a cupcake version at her bakery.  Well, it sounded pretty darn good to me too, so I decided to give it a shot.  I used a basic muffin recipe and threw in a little cinnamon and buttermilk, and here is the very tasty result.  I always keep a jar of cinnamon-sugar in my pantry because I love cinnamon-sugar toast and my family loves to put this mixture on top of their French toast instead of syrup.  So I figured this would be a hit.  And it was!

The muffins are dipped in melted butter and then rolled into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, so you have that awesome salty (from the butter) and sweet combination. These muffins are very moist and tender to begin with, but with the addition of that crunchy little coating, they are taken to a whole other level.  Love!

Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cinnamon sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a second bowl, whisk together, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla
Add the wet mixture to the dry and with a spoon, gently mix until it all the dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix as this will make the muffins tough.
Divide the muffins among the muffin cups (I made 12 muffins with this)
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the larger muffins comes out clean.
Let it cool for 2-3 minutes and remove them to a wire rack to cool further.
When the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip them into the butter, and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and set on a plate.  Cover the entire muffin.  Repeat until all of your muffins are coated.

Fresh Apricot Coffee Cake

Our tree is loaded right now with ripe apricots.  This is our first Summer in this house and really, my first experience with fresh apricots.  Sure I've had them before, but never in huge amounts like this and my feelings for them were, for lack of a better word, meh.  I didn't love them or hate them. They were one of the fruits that I never really gave a second thought to.  Apricots look like mini peaches.  They even have a lightly fuzzy skin.  But their flavor is milder, sweeter, less tangy.   They are also similar to plums but the flavor is not as pronounced and strong.    They are growing on me as well as our tree, but this sudden abundance has me scrambling to find recipes.  I came across this one on All Recipes and made some adjustments according to the reviews.  The consensus seemed to be that cooked apricots became rather tart.  When eaten raw, these apricots don't have the faintest bit of sourness.   But cooked?  Holy moly!  When I took my first bite, it was a bit of a shock, but crazy as it sounds, the tartness of the fruit with the sweetness of the cake becomes unusually addictive.  I will be making this again...  probably today, because the first cake is already gone.
The recipe below is with my adjustments, which have to do with additional sugar and milk,  but the original can be found on the link above. 

Fresh Apricot Coffee Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1 scant cup milk (not quite a full cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pitted, diced apricots
1/4 cup sugar to toss with the apricots

Topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder
In a separate bowl, cream 1/2 cup sugar, butter, and egg until light and fluffy
Mix in milk and vanilla until blended
Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and beat just until smooth
Spread batter evenly into a greased, 8-inch square baking pan
Toss the diced apricots with 1/4 cup of sugar
Sprinkle the apricots over the batter
Dust the whole thing with the cinnamon sugar topping

Bake approximately 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Bacon and Artichoke Heart Pizza with Pineapple

A Hawaiian friend (who happens to be a chef) once informed me that putting pineapple on pizza is an abomination. Chef or no chef, he doesn't know what he's missing.  Pineapple on pizza is fabulous!  The sweetness cuts the saltiness of the rest of the toppings and the flavor is unbeatable. 
I use apple wood smoked bacon and non-marinated artichoke hearts (the canned ones packed in water) on this pizza.  I top it all off with a clipping of fresh chives and try to eat it secretly in the kitchen so I don't have to share.  But the smell always tips off the rest of the family and I have to either share and make another one, or get my hands bitten off.  It's a good thing it only takes a few minutes to make.
For the crust, I use the recipe for Pizza Napoletana  and sometimes I use mushrooms instead of artichoke hearts (My kids prefer the mushroom version).
I normally use a baking stone to make pizza, but when I use heavy toppings, I prefer to just use a baking sheet lined with a Silpat liner (you can use parchment paper).  Let me take a minute to give a shout out to my Silpat liners: You guys rock my world!  I don't know how I survived all of those years without you.  You make life easier by reducing my clean up and by ensuring that everything I cook with you is perfectly brown and crispy.  You are browned and stained, but you are still beautiful to me.  I love you.

Bacon and Artichoke Pizza with Pineapple: or Bacon and Mushroom Pizza with Pineapple:

1 portion of Pizza Napoletana dough
Mozzarella cheese
Marinara sauce (preferably homemade, but a good quality jarred will work)
3 slices of thick cut apple wood-smoked bacon, lightly cooked and crumbled into bite-sized pieces
8-10 canned, water-packed  whole artichoke hearts, cut in half  (or fresh mushrooms, sliced OR 4 oz can of mushroom pieces)
1/2 cup golden pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces
Chives, snipped over the top

Preheat oven to 475 degrees
Drain and dry on paper towels, artichoke heart and pineapple (this is important for non-soggy pizza)
Form the pizza dough to the thickness and size desired right on top of the baking sheet
Layer as follows:
Marinara sauce
Cheese,
Artichoke hearts or mushrooms
Pineapple
Bacon
Chives

Cook until golden brown (approx 10 to 15 minutes)

Philadelphia Style Strawberry Ice Cream

There are two basic styles of ice cream: French and American (Philadelphia).  The difference is eggs.  French-style ice cream uses egg yolks to make a custard first and is creamier and smoother.  It is also quite richer.  Philadelphia-style just uses cream and milk and is therefore lighter, but freezes harder and is a bit firmer.  I love both, but chose the Philadelphia style here because I was in the mood for a lighter ice cream.  Next time, I'll make it French-style and will love it just as much, I am sure. 
I strained my strawberry puree because my family doesn't care for seeds.  Because of this, I increased my strawberries by 1 cup. It's personal preference though and if it were just me, I would have left them in.
Because this recipe does not have the richness of the custard base, you want to make sure the fruit you use is perfect because that is what is showcased here. Taste the puree and if you find it too tart, you may want to add some superfine sugar to sweeten it up to your liking. 

Strawberry Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style
from the cookbook, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book
by Bruce Weinstein

2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups fresh strawberries
1/4 cup milk

Heat the cream in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge. Do not let the cream boil.  Remove from the heat and add the sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely.  Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, cut the berries into quarters and place in a blender with the milk.  Blend until the berries are pureed.  Add the puree to the cooled cream.  Refrigerate until cold or overnight.  Freeze in 1 or 2 batches according to the manufacturer's instructions.  When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat.  For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

Fresh strawberries

Ready to be pureed

Cream and sugar

Straining out the seeds

Thomas Keller's Buttermilk Fried Chicken

I am enamored with Thomas Keller and all of his huge, coffee-table book size cookbooks.  When I first got them, I was expecting them to be just that; not really practical or usable, pretty coffee table books.  I was wrong.  They are packed with recipes that are very usable and dare I say, even simple?  Well, o.k., there are some that I wouldn't even begin to attempt, especially in his, The French Laundry book.  But a girl can still look and be inspired right?  This one is out of his "ad hoc at home" book.
I seem to be on a fried food kick right now.  The secret to this chicken is in the aromatic and flavorful brine.  I will list the recipe as written both for the fried chicken and the brine, but I cut everything in half for my family and I fried the chicken just until I achieved the color that I wanted and finished off the cooking process on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees.  I do this with fried chicken because I tend to burn the coating before the thicker pieces get cooked through all the way.  But again, I am listing the recipe as is written in the book and you choose whichever method works for you. 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken
from the cookbook, ad hoc at home by Thomas Keller

Two 2 1/2 to 3-pound chicken
Chicken brine (recipe below)

For dredging and frying:

Peanut or canola oil for deep-frying
1quart buttermilk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coating:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt
Rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish

Cut each chicken into 10 pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast quarters, and 2 wings.  Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken pieces.  Add the chicken and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer or the chicken may become too salty)
Remove chicken from the brine and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin.  Pat dry with paper towels, or let air-dry.  Let rest at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.
If you have two large pots, and a lot of oil you can cook the dark and white meat at the same time; if not, cook the dark meat first, then turn up the heat and cook the white meat.  No matter what size pot you have, the oil should not come more that one third f the way up the sides of the pot.  Fill the pot with at least 2 inches of peanut oil and heat to 320 degrees.  Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet,  Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
Meanwhile, combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Set up a dipping station:  the chicken pieces, one bowl of coating, the bowl of buttermilk, the second bowl of coating.  Transfer to the parchment lined pan. 
Carefully lower the thighs into the hot oil.  Adjust the heat as necessary return the oil to the proper temperature.  Fry for 2 minutes, then carefully move the chicken pieces around in the oil and continue to fry, monitoring the oil temperature and turning the pieces as necessary for even cooking, for 11 to 22 minutes, until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked through, and very crisp.  Meanwhile, coat the chicken drumsticks and transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet. 
Transfer the cooked thighs to the cooling rack skin side up and let rest while you fry the remaining chicken.  Make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature, and cook the chicken drumsticks.  When the drumsticks are don, lean them meat side up against the thighs to drain, then sprinkle the chicken with fine sea salt.
Turn up the heat and heat the oil to 340 degrees.  Meanwhile, coat the chicken breasts and wings.  Carefully lower the chicken breasts into the hot oil and fry for 7 minutes or until golden brown, cooked through, and crisp.  transfer to the rack, sprinkle with salt, and turn skin side up.  Cook the wings for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.  Transfer the wings to the rack and turn off the heat. 
Arrange the chicken on a serving platter.  Add the herb sprigs to the oil and let them cook and crisp for a few seconds, then arrange them over the chicken.

Chicken Brine:

5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaves
1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch (1 ounce) thyme
1/2 cup clover honey
1 head garlic, halved through the equator
1/2 cup black peppercorns
2 cups (10 ounces) kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
2 gallons water

The key ingredient here is the lemon, which goes wonderfully with chicken, as do the herbs.  This amount of brine will be enough for 10 pounds.

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt.  remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using.  The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

The brine minus the bay leaves

Getting ready for the bake (this is not in the recipe, but it's the only way for me not to burn my chicken)

Chicken Fried Steak With Country Gravy

I used to buy the frozen pre-breaded chicken fried steak that comes with the plastic pouch of gravy that you heat separately.  To be honest, it's actually not half bad.  But the thing is, this dish is easy to make from scratch and so much less expensive.  Cubed steak is pretty cheap (3.99 per pound, and it wasn't on even sale.  Each steak cost less than $2.00 and each of us were only able to finish half a steak.).  In fact, this whole meal which was too much for my entire family of four to finish, cost less than $10.00 for all of it, including the potatoes and green beans.  So how's that for a cheap, hearty meal?   And let's face it, chicken fried steak, while not the healthiest of meals, is awesome!

Chicken Fried Steak:
*Each cubed steak was about half a pound and each of those were cut in half.  Two pieces (1 steak) will feed 1 very hungry person, but most will probably only eat one if served with all the fixin's
**Instead of draining fried meat on paper towels, I like to use a wire rack set inside a baking sheet.  This will ensure that the steak stays crispy.  If you leave the fried steak on paper towels, they tend to re-absorb the oil from the paper towels and get soggy.

1 1/2 to 2 pounds cubed steak
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each-garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste
Additional salt and pepper to season meat
Vegetable oil for frying.

Cut each cubed steak in half and season lightly with salt and pepper
In a pie plate or flat bowl, beat eggs and milk
In a separate plate, mix flour with seasonings
For each steak:
Dredge in flour mixture
Dip in egg mixture
Dredge in flour again
Dip in egg again
End with another dredge in the flour and set aside.
Repeat

Heat oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat.  Fry 3 pieces of meat at a time until they get golden brown and turn over to cook the other side.  Drain over a wire rack.

Country Gravy:

1/4 cup of the same oil you used to cook steak
1/3 cup of flour
Approximately 2 cups of milk
Salt and pepper to taste

After frying all of the steak, pour off most of the grease, leaving about 1/4 cup.  Sprinkle the flour over the grease and using a whisk, mix the flour with the grease making a loose roux.  When the mixture is a golden color, slowly pour in milk, while continuing to whisk.  The gravy will become thick.  Add more milk if necessary to keep the gravy from getting too thick.  Season with salt and pepper.  This should be enough gravy for all of your steak and some mashed potatoes. 

Cubed steak.  This is about half a pound.  You want to cut this in half.

Here is the wire rack set inside of a rimmed baking sheet.

This is what approximately 1/4 cup of oil looks like

Then you add your flour

The roux

Quick Peach Cobbler

Peach cobblers I have had have been really-really good, or really-really bad.  I love a soft, fluffy, cake-like topping; not a big fan of overly sweet, crisp or sugar cookie type toppings. And the filling has to be perfectly sweet, not tart, or overly sugary.  Picky, picky.  In non-peach season, I prefer to use canned peaches.  Most are canned at their perfect ripeness so I don't have to worry about having a tart/sour cobbler and also, I don't add sugar to the filling as it is already sweet enough.  Topped with a dollup of whipped cream, it is a wonderful ending to any meal. 

Peach Cobbler:

Filling:
5 cups peeled, pitted, thinly sliced peaches or 1 pound (2 large cans or 1 jar) canned peaches, drained (reserving the canning syrup)
1/3 cup sugar (if using fresh peaches, omit sugar if using canned)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup water (or 1/4 cup canning syrup if using canned)
2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375
Lighty butter or spray with cooking spray, a baking dish (8 inch or 1 liter)
Combine peaches with syrup or water, sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon and vanilla.  Stir together and pour into the baking dish.  Top with butter pieces.

Combine the topping ingredients in a different bowl and spoon evently over the peaches. 
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the topping is a golden brown.

This is the brand of peaches I used.  I prefer the fruit in these jars rather than cans.  I think they taste better, but that may just be me.

Here is the peach mixture

Cubed Steak Sandwich

I found this recipe in The Pioneer Woman Cooks and I thought it would be something my family would like.  They love "country" style foods like chicken fried steak, steak fingers, fried _____, gravy......etc.  This steak sandwich is made from cubed steak (which is normally use for chicken fried steak) and grilled onions.  I amp'd it up a little by using homemade sandwich rolls and by adding cheese.  Six thumbs up from one man and two kids. 

Cubed Steak Sandwich
from the cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 large onion or 2 small/medium onions, sliced
Butter, lots of it
2 or 3 pounds of cube steak
Seasoned salt
Lemon pepper
Black pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco
4 French or deli rolls
**Optional- cheese!  Provolone would be divine.  I used good ole American, because it was what I had in the fridge.

In a skillet, melt 1/4 stick of butter.
Add onions and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and light brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove onion from pan and set aside.
Cut each piece of cubed steak against the grain into 1-inch strips.  Season the meat with season salt, lemon pepper, and black pepper.
Add 2 tablespoons butter to the same skillet in which you cooked the onion.  Turn the heat to high.  Let the butter begin to turn brown and then add enough meat to make a single layer.  Cook until brown on both sides and fully cooked.  Set aside and cook remaining meat in single layer. 
Return all of the meat back to the pan, add the onion.  Pour in Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce to taste.  Add additional 2 tablespoons of butter.  Simmer the mixture over low heat for about 5 minutes to thoroughly warm.
Cut each roll in half lengthwise.  Spread with butter, then brown on a griddle or skillet.  Place the rolls face up on a plate then place the meat mixture on the bottom half.  Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of the pan juices over the top.  *Optional-top with cheese:)

Homemade bread recipe-I just shaped the bread into torpedoes this time.

I shaped most of the dough into dinner rolls for later and made 4 sandwich rolls

Here are the sandwich rolls right out of the oven

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake

This recipe is from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's Bakery, "Baked" in Brooklyn.  Their first cookbook, also named Baked has an amazing array of wonderful, decadent recipes.  This cake is their most loved and most requested recipe and I can see why.  It is a chocolate cake with salted caramel and whipped caramel-chocolate ganache frosting. It is definitely a "grown up" cake with that fabulous sweet and salty combination that we adults love.  As far as kids go, mine liked the cake but would have preferred if I left off the salt sprinkles (They thought the salt was gross but I thought it was the best part!) It is super rich and so very sinful.  The salted caramel almost didn't make it on the cake because I was eating spoonfuls of it all by itself.  Holy smokes!

I have an aversion to making layer cakes.  They are quite the undertaking for simple, sheet cake loving me.  But with the right tools, I was able to tackle this without too much drama.  It came out a little lopsided, but not bad for a beginner.  I made it for my baby brother's 31st birthday:)  We had it with some strong coffee, but a glass of cold milk would have been just as good.

One tip I will give out is to do your dishes right after you make each element of this cake.  You will be using the same pots over and over again, so it just makes it easier if you get yourself really organized.  There are quite a few steps, but they are pretty simple.  Also, as far as the caramel making goes.  The recipe says to cook the syrup until it registers 350 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  That did not work for me.  The caramel will go from perfectly golden to a burnt amber within seconds if you try to get the instant read thermometer to read.  Also my candy thermometer was either not reading properly or 350 was way too high.  So I learned the hard way to just use my eyes and get the syrup off of the stove when it just starts turning golden.  You can always darken it up a little more after you get your cream mixture in it.  If something smells scorched, you have cooked it too long.  Start over.

Sweet and Salty Cake
from the cookbook, Baked
by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

For the classic chocolate cake layers:
3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups hot water
2/3 cup sour cream
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the salted caramel:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel (or sea salt)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup sour cream

For the whipped caramel ganache frosting:
1 pound dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cacao), chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
**After frosting the entire cake, I still had a tub of this frosting leftover, so unless you like a LOT of frosting on your cake, you can probably reduce this.

To assemble the cake:
2 teaspoons fleur de sel, plus more for garnish

Make the chocolate cake:
*Preheat oven to 325

*Butter three 8 inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper (cut them to fit the pans) and then butter the parchment too. Dust with flour and knock out the excess flour.
*In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water, and sour cream and set aside to cool.
*Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.
*In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until ribbon like, about 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.
*Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
*Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. remove the parchment.

Make salted caramel:
*In a small saucepan, combine the cream and fleur de sel. Bring to a simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved.
*Meanwhile, keeping a close eye on the cream mixture so it doesn't burn, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup, stirring them together carefully so you don't splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute.
*Add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temp, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Make the frosting:

*Put chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.


*Add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. Stir slowly for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. Let the caramel and chocolate sit for 1 minute, then starting in the center of the bowl, and working you way out to the edges, slowly stir the chocolate and caramel mixture in a circle until the chocolate is completely melted. Let the mixture cool, then transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and bear on high speed until the mixture is fluffy.

Assemble the cake:
*Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1/4 cup of the caramel over the top. Let the caramel soak into the cake, then spread 3/4 cup of the ganache frosting over the caramel. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the frosting, then top with the second cake layer. Spread with caramel frosting and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Then top with the third layer. Spread with caramel. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

Crumb Coat: A crumb coat is a very thin layer of frosting applied to the cake to keep the light crumbs suspended so they wont appear in the final layer of frosting. A crumb coated cake should be refrigerated for at least 15 minutes prior to applying the next frosting layer.

This is the cocoa powder I used

Here is the combined cocoa powder, hot water and sour cream

The cake batter divided into three pans (I didn't have any 8-inch pans, so I used 9-inch)

                                         

Here is the sugar mixture right before I took it off the heat.  You want it just a tad darker than this, but not much

After I mixed in the salted cream mixture.  Make sure you let it cool completely before you try tasting this.  Otherwise you will burn the skin right off of the roof of your mouth (don't ask me how I know this.)

The brand of chocolate I used for the frosting. 

I just put the chopped chocolate directly into the bowl of my electric mixer instead of dirtying up another bowl.

Here is the chocolate with the caramel mixture poured on top.

Here is is after it's all melted and mixed.  Make sure you cool it completely after this point and before you start mixing in the butter.

I bought an inexpensive turntable to make frosting cakes a lot easier.

And about a dozen of these cardboard things that really made the transferring of the decorated cake to a cake stand drama-free.

So here is the first cake layer on top of the cardboard thing, on top of the turntable.

The caramel ready to be spread.  I actually used more than this, but it's what I started with.

The first layer of frosting over the caramel with a sprinkle of salt.

Layer number two.

All three layers with a crumb coating over the whole cake.  On to the refrigerator.

The finished, slightly lopsided cake.