Let Them Eat Cake

Last Saturday was my 30th birthday.  If you know me, then you know that I absolutely love birthdays.  I make a huge deal out of other people's birthdays, and I love a celebration.

This year, in honor of the big 3-0, I spent 3 days making myself a birthday cake.  I had made this cake once before (I got the recipe from a Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit), so I knew it was no small undertaking.  I mean, it involves not only making the batter and frosting from scratch, but also making your own caramel from scratch.  (A process which I have documented below and prior to this recipe would never have considered attempting.)  But if you are ever going to spend your precious spare time making yourself (or someone you love) a cake this involved, I would say that a milestone birthday is probably the proper occasion.  Here are some highlights from the process:

I started out by buttering and flouring my cakepans to make sure the batter wouldn't stick:

The finished pumpkin spice cakes came out looking golden and delicious:

After letting the cakes cool overnight, I started on the frosting.  The first step is to make the caramel.  You start with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in a pan over medium heat:

The sugar starts to melt:

And take on a golden brown color:

Once it has all melted, you continue to cook it until it turns amber:

At which point, you add 1/2 cup cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp salt and the mixture begins to bubble like crazy:

 You'll want to stir the mixture until any grainy bits dissolve:

And then strain it:

Once the strained caramel has cooled to room temperature, you can add it to the cream cheese frosting:

Then after frosting the cake and letting it set overnight it will look something like this:

I ate this slice for breakfast (because one nice thing about being 30 is not having to wait until after you finish all of your dinner before you get to eat your cake):