Caramel Cake

The Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was on Saturday, so of course I had to make a caramel cake with caramel icing to celebrate the occasion!;) Mmmmm! I had the last sliver with my coffee this morning.....
Anyway, Joy of Cooking's recipe for caramel frosting is sooo good, I can't help but share it. ~If you love caramel, than you will love this!


Here it is:

In a saucepan, combine two cups of packed brown sugar and one cup of heavy cream (or you can substitute 1/2 cup of butter cut into small pieces and 1/2 cup of milk, if you do not have the heavy cream).
Cook and stir over medium high heat for about three minutes and the sugar is all dissolved. Then get out a candy thermometer and cook (without stirring!) until the thermometer registers around 238 degrees. Remove the pan from the heat, and float three tablespoons of unsalted butter on top of the hot mixture. Do not stir, but allow it to cool to about 110 degrees (this takes around 45 minutes). Then, transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl, add one teaspoon of vanilla and beat the icing with a mixer until it is cool, creamy, and the proper spreading consistency (~if it gets a bit too thick, you can thin it out with a little heavy cream or milk).
Use it immediately, or cover the surface with plastic wrap. It will keep for about a week this way at room temperature, or three weeks refrigerated. Enjoy!