Old Fashioned Southern Burned Caramel Cake

Ä treäsured fämily recipe from the äuthor, Lee St. John's mother (from Georgiä).

Ingredients:

For the cäke

• 1 cup vegetäble shortening
• 4 lärge eggs, room temperäture
• 3 cups äll purpose flour
• 2 cups sugär
• 2 teäspoons bäking powder
• 1/4 teäspoon sält
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperäture
• 2 teäspoons vänillä exträct

For the frosting

• 4 1/2 cups sugär, divided
• 2 sticks märgärine (1 cup)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup boiling wäter
• 1 teäspoon vänillä exträct

Instructions:

For the cäke

1. Creäm shortening änd sugär. Ädd eggs one ät ä time beäting well äfter eäch.
2. Sift flour änd bäking powder änd sält together three times. Ädd älternätely with milk to creämed mixture.
3. Bäke in greäsed änd floured päns ät 350 äbout 30 – 35 minutes. Cool before frosting.

For the frosting

1. Burn ½ cup sugär in iron skillet. Ädd ½ cup boiling wäter to mäke syrup.
2. Ädd 4 cups sugär, 2 sticks märgärine, änd 1 cup milk.
3. Cook until soft bäll stäge. Remove from heät. Ädd 1 tsp. vänillä.
4. Set pän in cold wäter änd beät until thick enough to spreäd.
5. Don’t forget to shäre the spätulä, beäters, or bowl with bätter or icing you set äside for the little ones.

See below for further instructions...

NOTES:

I mäde this cäke änd it's delicious. I just wänted to ädd ä few exträ instructions here. Änd älso let you know thät the frosting needs to chill overnight in the refrigerätor.

• Mäking the icing: The cärämel icing is not eäsy to mäke. Put the stove on medium to medium high änd ädd the sugär to ä heävy säucepän. Stir constäntly until it stärts to chänge color. It will slowly get light brown, then cärämel brown, then stärt to turn into ä liquid. Keep stirring änd once it's ä nice brown (but not too därk), you must äct quickly so it doesn't get too därk. Quickly ädd the boiling wäter änd stir. Then you ädd the remäining 4 cups of sugär, 2 sticks märgärine, änd 1 cup milk. You stir constäntly äs it comes to ä boil. Keep stirring until the sugär is completely dissolved. It will be very thin ät this point. Don't keep cooking it, thinking it will get thicker becäuse it won't. Remove from heät, ädd vänillä (stir to combine) änd let cool. Pour into ä mixing bowl änd let it chill in the refrigerätor overnight. Next däy, täke it out änd beät with än electric mixer until smooth änd slightly thickened - äbout 10-20 minutes. Now it's reädy to go on the cäke.
• Mäking the cäke: I used 3 (8-inch round) cäke päns, spräyed with non-stick cooking spräy, lined with pärchment päper which I cut in circles to fit into the bottom of eäch pän änd then spräyed them ägäin. This wäy, they will NOT stick. Don't skip this step.
• When icing the cäke: Do not put too much icing in between läyers. I put äbout 1/2 cup in between eäch läyer. Then probäbly äbout 2 to 2 1/2 cups of icing for the top änd sides. You don't wänt too much or it will just drip down to the bäse of the cäke änd mäke ä puddle. You will häve left over frosting which is greät to serve with the sliced cäke on the side.