Better Than Sex Cake

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Yes yes, I know I am about 3 weeks late on that, but hey, its better than nothing. Now that all of this partying and holiday feasts are over, I can finally get back to my normal eating habits. NOT!

When January rolled in, I knew it was birthday time. And by birthdays, I mean  cake. And more cake = more blogging= happy viewers. 

Hmm.. I guess by the transitive property, More cake = happier viewers. who knew?

So I know that I have been leading you on too much about this cake already. I mean, c'mon, better than sex? Yeah right! Go on, scoff all you want, but until you've tried this cake you haven't felt what true euphoria feels like. I am here to bring you nirvana, afternoon delights, or whatever you wanna call it. Either way, its freakin' delish.

So without further a due, I proudly present, a cake, that is indeed, better than sex. 

This cake was a request by the birthday girl #1, Karissa. She  was searching for a cake that she wanted, and stumbled across a cake that was called "better than sex cake". She instantly messaged me saying, "I want an Anna rendition of this cake!". 

My rendition? There it is. 

This cake is made up of a Dark Drunken Devil's Food cake (try saying that 5 times fast), Condensed Milk, homemade Caramel,  Salted Caramel Buttercream, crushed Heath Bars, and whipped cream

Drooling yet?

Better than Sex Cake
1 batch Drunken Devil's Food cake
1 batch Salted Caramel Buttercream
1 14-oz can, sweetened condensed milk
Caramel sauce ( I didn't really measure it, I just tripled the amount of caramel needed for the buttercream and poured approx. 2/3 of it onto the cake.)
5-6 Heath bars, crushed into small-medium sized chunks
Whipped Cream

Dark Drunken Devil's Food Cake
adapted from David Lebovitz  Yield:  9" layered cake
9 Tbsp. Hersey's Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1½  cups minus 3 Tbsp.  all purpose flour
3 Tbsp.  Cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ Kahlua, or other coffee liquor  (If you'd like, you can just use strong coffee)
½ cup whole or low-fat milk 
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F . Line 2 9" baking pans with parchment paper, and lightly oil and flour the sides. 
2. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup  mix the milk and liquor together, set aside.
3. In a (separate) mixing bowl, cream  together the sugar and the  butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients, mix well and then add the milk/liquor mixture and mix. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. I would recommend doing the final mixing with an electric mixer (if you weren't already) as the final batter tends to get really fluffy. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Divide batter between two 9" pans.  Bake for approx. 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs. Because of the alcohol, the cakes take less time to bake as the alcohol evaporates pretty quickly. I would check to make sure the cake is done at the 15 minute mark.  Make sure not to overcook!

Salted Caramel Buttercream
from Gimme Some Oven
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes.Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla (just start with a tablespoon or two), stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. (Be careful, as the mixture will definitely bubble up and possibly splatter a bit as you add in the cream.)  Set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes.
2. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.  
3. Turn off the mixer, and then add caramel.Beat frosting on low to combine, and then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate if not using immediately (or to harden the frosting a bit).

Whipped Cream
3/4 Cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Vanilla

Place all ingredients in a chilled mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium - high speed until it reaches the stiff peak consistency. 

Assembly

1. While cakes are baking, prepare the caramel for the Salted Caramel Buttercream. If you are going with my method, triple the amount of sugar, water and cream in the recipe, otherwise, any caramel ice cream topping will do. Once the caramel is created, set aside 1/3 of it for the frosting. Let the other 2/3 of the caramel thicken up a bit (let it sit for approx 15 minutes).
2. Once the cake has finished baking, remove from oven. While still warm, poke holes one inch apart  all over the cakes, being sure not to poke through to the bottom. 
3. Pour condensed milk and caramel sauce onto each of the cakes, aiming for it to seep into the holes you've created. (Don't worry if there are large puddles in your cake. As the cake cools, it will absorb all the liquid). Refrigerate cakes until chilled. 
4. Meanwhile, prepare Salted Buttercream frosting, and crush the Heath bars.
5. Once the cakes are chilled, pipe the buttercream onto the top of one of them. Top with the majority of the crushed candy. Top with the second layer of cake, and refrigerate until the frosting is set. Once the buttercream is sturdy, and the cake is cold, pipe whippped cream and sprinkle with the remaining heath bar bits.
   

To me, this cake was a complete surprise. Knowing about all the sugar that I jammed into the cake, I was thinking this cake would be very rich, and overly sweet; but it wasn't! Yes it was decadent, yes it was very chocolaty, but I feel that even after all this sugar, the sweetness level was just right. It may have been the whipped cream that was taking away from the sweet factor. Or it could have been the whipped cream's smooth texture contrasted beautifully with the crunch of the heath bars. Either way, this cake was delicious, and I cant wait for my next excuse to make it again. 

Up next! 

Birthday number 2, Sierra!
Gluten-free Strawberry and Cream Cake