Salted caramel chocolate cake

Everybody loves Starbucks’ seasonal drinks. One of the most flavorful and delicious drinks is the Salted Caramel Mocha. Just when you think the perfect combination of chocolate and caramel is going to be too sweet, a hint of salt evens it out. So one day when I was on Pinterest, I came across a recipe for a salted caramel cake that I just knew I had to try. I had a couple hours yesterday afternoon with nothing going on, so I thought it’d be a perfect time to try this new recipe. I was nervous because it was different than my recipe and I had never made a cake not at home. It turned out to be one of the most successful and delicious desserts I’ve ever made. Tastes just like the drink!

Ingredients (frosting):

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

18 oz. milk chocolate chips

10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cake ingredients: see Portillo’s chocolate cake

Steps:

1. Add sugar and water to a sauce pan. Stir on medium until sugar melts.

2. Bring to boil and do not stir when it starts to boil (do not touch: caramel could crystallize).

3. Allow to boil until it turns a dark amber (8-10 minutes).

4. Turn down heat and SLOWLY add cream. Stir between small increments. Be careful of steam. Take your time. 

5. Stir until caramel is a creamy texture and stir in sea salt.

6. Pour over bowl of chocolate chips and stir until chocolate melts. Place in refrigerator for about an hour (bake cake now).

7. Remove and stir. Add room-temperature butter in cubes to frosting mixture. Stir with whisk. Cool for a half hour.

8. After cake is cool, apply frosting generously. Sprinkle sea salt on top. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite homemade frosting?