Has anyone made the Chocolate Layer Cake with Caramel Ganache from RHC? Did you like it? I am looking for a cake to make for my dad’s 67th birthday… he likes caramel so I was thinking to make this but from reading comments on this forum, it doesn’t seem to be a favorite cake… Any favorite cakes/ cake combos from caramel lovers out there?

Thank you: )

I think this cake combo is terrific, but the caramel stays in the background and just enhances the chocolate, so it comes across as a chocolate cake with a mysterious undertone.  I have made the caramel ganache and increased the proportion of sugar a bit to bring the caramel flavor out, and that worked nicely. 

To further emphasize the caramel, you could syrup a cake with caramelized sugar/water syrup.  It could be any cake that would take a syrup, but if you’d like to stick with chocolate the deep choc passion (german choc) cake is a great chocolate-but-not-too-intensely-chocolate cake.  It is also a crowd pleaser.

If you wanted to skip the chocolate, you could try the Karmel cake with caramel silk meringue buttercream, but I haven’t made this combo so I don’t really know how it is.

The Caramel Silk Meringue Buttercream is also delicious!  Word of caution…only make in single batches as I think the cream added to the caramel evaporates less when added in larger batches making a runnier BC if made in large batches.  The Chocolate Fudge Cake from TCB uses brown sugar so it has a bit of a caramel undertone for a chocolate cake.  Good luck.  Please share your results once you decide!

I have made the cake and it is ok.  I also find the ganache to not have a big caramel flavour.  I also didn’t find the cake to be super chocolately.  When I make a caramel chocolate cake I use the Chocolate Domingo cake and use the caramel from the turtle cupcakes in RHC as a filling.  It soaks into the cake a little bit and makes it super yummy.  I also put a layer of whipped chocolate ganache as a layer too.  You can also bake pecans on top of the batter and make it a turtle cake.

Thank you all for replying! TCB has so many cake/buttercream options I am overwhelmed! I really want to try the caramel silk meringue buttercream but I am a bit strapped for time. How hard is it to make caramel powder? Is their a shortcut (like store-bought caramel powder)? Thank you!  I will take a look at the turtle cupcakes recipe when I get home from work…

I ended up making the golden genoise filled and frosted with Caramel SMB and dusted with caramel powder. The cake was quite an adventure for me. It was my first time making genoise, so I had to throw away the first two cakes (they rose only 1 inch!). My 3rd attempt was not perfect but useable, and my 4th was almost perfect (almost 2 inches tall!) . I split the 2 cakes, syruped them with kahlua simple syrup and filled and frosted them with the caramel-kahlua SMB (which I almost also messed up.. but saved in the end!). I LOOOVE the taste of the SMB. Really yummy! After splitting my 2 cakes, I ended up with only 3 layers not four because one of the layers fell apart after splitting! Oh well.. as I said, the cake was an adventure! I will put up a photo tomorrow before we cut it! Thank you to everyone for your ideas, suggestions and help! : )

That cake and frosting combination sounds delicious, adrie318. I’m so glad to hear things finally worked out for you after four attempts. I have had many problems baking a genoise myself (not the same one you made), so I know how frustrating it can be trying to get it right. I also had to throw out a few attempts before getting mine right. I’m sure your dad will love the cake you made for him. Congrats on your success with the genoise. It’s a tough cake to bake. I look forward to seeing your pics once you post them.

- MP

Here is the final cake, garnished with caramel powder and chunks of caramel candy (recipe: caramel powder, TCB recipe).

That looks great, adrie318! I’m glad it all worked out for you. Thanks for sharing your pic.

Congratulations on mastering genoise and silk meringue buttercream!  They are among the tastiest and most elegant recipes in TCB.  Your cake looks wonderful and I bet it tasted great, too

Thank you! Everyone loved the taste, so I am very happy. I was nervous that the kahlua-caramel combo wouldn’t work but everyone loved it. I didn’t put too much kahlua in the SMB- I had read in another Rose recipe that the buttercream can take up to a 1/4 cup kahlua so that was a good guideline to have. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep notes and I can’t remember how much I used so that I can make this again! Oh well!