Light vanilla sponges filled with caramel mascarpone frosting and decorated with a generous amount of homemade caramel popcorn aka my new favorite snack!
Hi guys! Sorry for disappearing in the last few weeks but I had lots of thing going on. I went to England with my school and had the best time there! I ate tons of delicious British food like Full English Breakfast, Cream Tea (Scones with clotted cream, strawberry jam and black tea with milk), lots of Cadburry and Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Hot Cross Buns and one of my favorite was REAL fudge. You need to try fudge in Enlgand it’s the best! Long story short, get ready because English recipes will come very soon!!
I also had a giant history exam yesterday, but now I am back and ready for sharing new recipes!
Now let’s talk about the cake, cause I am sure that is why you are here. I made this cake for Chili’s birthday. She is obsessed with caramel just like me so the flavor was qutie obvious. I also wanted to try caramel popcorn.
For the sponge I used the barely brown butter sponge recipe from the Momofuku Milk Bar book. I added some crushed popcorn into the batter to have extra curnch.
The filling is the easiest thing to make just whip some mascarpone, and caramel sauce together. That is it! You can use store bought caramel sauce but I have a super delicious recipe too.
The star of the cake was definitely the caramel popcorn. It’s SOOOOO ADDICTING I can’t even describe. Make sure you make a huge batch because it will disappear in a minute. It’s not too complicated but be really careful because caramel is HOT! Trust me you don’t want to touch it. I have never burned myself with caramel before this cake. But this time… at least three times.
I know this cake sounds too sweet and dense but it really isn’t. Even I was suprised when I tasted it because I tought it will be instant diabetes.
If you don’t want to make the whole cake just please try the caramel popcorn because that is literally th ebest part and you don’t want to miss out.
Happy weekend!
P.S.: Sorry I don't have any photo of a slice. The whole cake disappeared before I had a chance to take a photo.
Caramel Popcorn Cake
Prep Time: 30 min. Baking Time: 45 min. Total Time: 3 hours Portions: 8 slices
Ingredients:
Barely Brown Butter Cake (Momofuku):
55g butter
40g brown butter*
250g granulated sugar
60g light brown sugar
3 eggs
120ml buttermilk
80ml oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
185g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
10-15g crushed popped popcorn (I made it in a food processor)
* To make the brown butter place the butter in a pot and start to melt it over medium-low heat. After it’s melted stir it constantly. It will bubble up at one point then start to turn into brown. You need to keep your eyes on it or it will burn! When it reaches a golden brown color with some darker brown pieces pour it into a glass or metal bowl, let it cool down slightly.
Caramel Mascarpone Frosting:
500g mascarpone
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2-3/4 cup caramel sauce + extra for assembling the cake (Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe)
Caramel Popcorn:
5 cups popped popcorn
½ cup granulated sugar
40g light corn syrup or honey
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
Barely Brown Butter Cake:
Sponge:
Preheat your oven to 355 F or 180 C. Line a 10 x 12 inch or 25 x 31 cm rectangle baking pan with parchment paper.
Cream together for 2-3 minutes the butters and sugar with a standing mixer. Use the paddle attachment!
Add the eggs, and mix on medium-high speed for another 2-3 minutes.
On low speed add the milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk for 5 minutes until it’s almost white and doubled in size.
In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and crushed popcorn. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix for 1 minute just until everything comes together.
Spread the batter in the baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a fork, if it comes out clean it’s done. Let it cool down on a wire rack completely.
Caramel Mascarpone Frosting:
Cream together the mascarpone, the sugar, and the caramel sauce with a whisk or a standing mixer. You can add more caramel sauce if you want.
Caramel Popcorn:
Preheat your oven to 230 F or 110 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put your popcorn into a big bowl.
Combine the sugar, salt, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When all the sugar is melted and it has a golden brown color add the butter and stir until it’s completely melted. Boil for 2 minutes while constantly stirring.
Take it off from the stove and stir in the baking soda. Be careful it will bubble up.
Pour it over the popcorn and stir until every piece is covered. Then spread it out onto the baking sheet. you want to work as quickly as you can because it sets easily.
Bake for 20 minutes stirring them once at half time. Let it cool down completely.
Assembling the cake:
Use a 6 inch or 15 cm cake ring to cut out two circles from the sponge and two halves.
Place the cake ring on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or a serving plate. Line the inside wall of the ring with acetate or parchment strips. Make sure the strips are higher than the cake ring. Put the two halves inside the ring and tap them together. You can use some leftover crumbs to create an even layer.
Spread around ¼ cup of the frosting on top of the first sponge then drizzle it generously with caramel sauce.
Set the next cake round on top of it and repeat step number 3.
Put the last cake on top of the caramel. Set the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove the cake ring and create a crumb coat with the mascarpone frosting around the whole cake. Put it into the freezer for 30 minutes.
Cover the cake with the leftover frosting then drizzle it with caramel sauce and make a giant mountain of caramel popcorn on top of it.
