Eric Lanlard’s Salted Butter Caramel Cake

Eric Lanlard’s Salted Butter Caramel Cake

I am a great fan of salted butter caramel and after lots of experiments I’ve come up with this delicious recipe, which is made of layers of salted butter caramel biscuit baked into a rich and dark chocolate cake. A winning recipe…

Serves 8–10
Preparation: 35 minutes, plus chilling and cooling
Cooking: 45 minutes

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
150ml milk
4 eggs, separated
125g golden caster sugar
100g plain flour
pinch of sea salt crystals, to decorate

For the caramel biscuit
225g digestive biscuits
300g golden caster sugar
2 tablespoons water
100ml single cream
100g salted butter, plus extra for greasing
2 pinches of sea salt

For the chocolate glaze
200g (7oz) dark chocolate, chopped
200ml pouring cream

Method

1. First make the caramel biscuit. Grease 2 x 22cm diameter sandwich cake tins and line the bases with baking paper. Put the biscuits into a food processor and whizz to fine crumbs.
2. Put the sugar and water into a heavy-based saucepan and dissolve over a low heat.
   Increase the heat and cook until it forms an amber caramel. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the cream, followed by the butter and salt. Stir the biscuit crumbs into the caramel, then divide equally between the prepared tins and press down with the back of a spoon. Place in the freezer to set.
3. To make the sponge, preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C). Grease a deep 22cm diameter loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking paper. Melt the chocolate, butter and milk together in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the surface of the water does not touch the bowl.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together using an electric hand whisk until pale and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then gently fold into the chocolate mixture.
   Remove the caramel biscuit discs from the freezer and remove them from the tins, discarding the lining paper. Place one of the discs on the bottom of the prepared loose-bottomed cake tin and spread with half of the cake mixture. Lay the other biscuit disc on top and cover with the remaining cake mixture.
5. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes until the cake is just cooked – it should be almost undercooked for extra gooeyness. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. To make the glaze, put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Put the cream into a saucepan and heat to simmering point, then pour one-quarter over the chocolate. Leave for 1 minute until the chocolate starts to melt, then gently stir in the rest of the cream until smooth and glossy. Cover the cooled cake with the chocolate glaze and use a palette knife
   to spread it evenly over the top and down the side. Lightly sprinkle sea salt crystals on top of the cake, then chill it in the refrigerator until set before serving.

Recipe taken from Chocolat by Eric Lanlard (www.cake-boy.com) published by Mitchell Beazley
(c) photography by Kate Whitaker