This salty caramel leaf cake is going to take your leaf cake game to a whole new level. Deliciously moist, cooked to perfection, and covered with a mixture of melted caramel, caramel chips, chocolate chips and sea salt, you won’t want a regular cake again!
INGREDIENTS
CHOCOLATE CAKE… PART ONE
1/3 cup (67g) brown sugar
1/3 cup of strong coffee
1/2 cup (59g) cocoa processed in the Netherlands
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
CHOCOLATE CAKE – PART TWO
1 1/2 cups (187.5g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) salted butter, warm but not melted
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100g) packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla
SALTED CARAMEL COATING
1 bag (10 ounces) of individually wrapped, unwrapped candy
1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 57g) butter
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup (68g) chocolate chips
2/3 cup of candy
INSTRUCTIONS
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place brown sugar, coffee, cocoa, butter and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until fully incorporated (5-7 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool slightly. It should be a little thick and similar to custard.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
Add hot butter, both sugars, eggs, cold coffee and vanilla to the flour mixture and mix with a hand blender until completely blended. Or, stir by hand.
Add the chocolate mixture from PART ONE to the ingredients from PART TWO. Stir by hand until all ingredients are well combined.
Pour into prepared baking sheet (sprinkled or lined with parchment paper) 10×15 inches. Smooth dough and gently tap pan on countertop.
Bake for 16-22 minutes, or until the center no longer feels wet and a toothpick inserted with a few crumbs is removed.
SALTED CARAMEL TOPPING
Melt the candy, butter and milk in a glass or ceramic microwaveable container at 30-second intervals, stirring after each melt, for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on your microwave).
Pour the caramel mixture over the hot cake and cover with sea salt, chocolate chips and caramel pieces.
Cool completely before cutting into squares.