Kentucky Salted Buttercup Cake is a homemade recipe for moist, buttery cake with a caramel butter sauce that is rich, delicious and soaks into the cake!
Ingredients
Cake:
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of white sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup of cream of coffee with caramel (I used International Delight Simply Pure) (can replace buttermilk but without cream of tartar)
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Butter sauce:
¾ cup white sugar
⅓ cup of butter
3 tablespoons of cream of coffee with caramel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Salted caramel, for the topping (makes 1.5 cups OR use store-bought)
1 cup sugar
¼ cup of water
¾ cup of heavy cream
3½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
Cake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch cake pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 2 cups sugar, salt, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix (i.e., in the DRY mixture) the coffee cream, 1 cup of butter, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 4 eggs. Beat for 3 minutes at medium speed.
Pour the dough into the prepared fritter pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a wooden stick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Punch holes in the cake while it is still hot (I use a wooden spoon handle – nothing too large – I can also use a wooden skewer).
Slowly pour the butter sauce over the cake making sure it goes into all the holes. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Running a knife around the edges first helps the cake come out clean.
Butter sauce:
In a saucepan combine ¾ cups of sugar, ⅓ cup of butter, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and the coffee cream. Cook over medium heat until completely melted and combined, but do not bring mixture to a boil.
Salted caramel (if made at home):
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, without stirring. If necessary, use a wet cake brush to wash the crystals on the side of the pan. Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 6-8 minutes.
Remove the sugar from the heat and carefully add the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble. Add the unsalted butter and salt. Transfer the caramel to a plate and let it cool. Sprinkle/blow on the cake. You may have some leftovers, use them on the ice cream!