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Saturday, February 23, 2008

Wish Me Luck! Also, My Mad Frosting Skillz are Back!

I'm up at the crack of freakin' dawn on a Saturday when I wanted to sleep in until AT LEAST 6:30.. Gah. What happened to the days of staying up (and usually out) until 4 in the morning and sleeping until noon? Yanno.. this growing up/old shit is for the birds. :P

Anyhoo.. I guess excitement might have a little bit to do with why I'm up so fakkin early. You see, today we are headed off to a casino! My very first casino ever. I use to be a bingo freak. Yeah, I know.. but Shuuuushz! I don't tell that to many people. :P Anyhoo.. I wouldn't go for the actual Bingo, I went for those damn instant win tickets.. if you've ever been to a bingo hall or a Catholic church festival, you know what I mean. Colorful tickets about the size of an Ipod with little paper tabs on the front.. you open up the tabs to find out what you've won - IF you've won. Addicting. Horribly bad - close to 12 step - addicting. At least for me. And then.. THEN some moron decides it'd be a good idea to open up little shops all through the city that sells the lil tickets! No Bingo! Just the tickets.. OMG I would count the SECONDS until my lunch hour so I could go rip through $20-$40 a day. A DAY.

So you see.. gambling and I are bad juju. I haven't been to a bingo hall in years and I haven't ripped through any instant win tickets since this past summer (Hey! I support my Catholic churches! Do not judge me!) and that was only 2 festivals. :P

Hubbs has wanted to go to one of these casinos that have popped up everywhere for years now and my response has always been, "We can't afford it, dear." Well this year, the pathetic look on his face when I announced that I was going to go pay off all sorts of bills with our tax refunds got to me. So I asked how much he wanted and what he wanted to do with it. "Casino trip!" was all he said.

So everyone keep their fingers and toes crossed.. and send the good juju, folks! For we are casino headed. Woot!

And since I've got all this time this morning, I decided to forego some behind the scenes DB work and post another Kitchen Disaster!! It's been so long.. I have missed my KD posts so muchly.

Bobby Deen. Paula's hunky and still single youngest son. Twas his birthday and the Deen folks decided it'd be a cute episode for Paula's Home Cookin' - the premise was Paula tricking her youngest son into helping her cook his favorite foods for his own birthday party. ha! ha! Gah.

If you are a Deen fan, like myself, and own any one of her dessert cookbooks, then ya'll know that Bobby's favorite cake is a caramel cake. I've looked at the instructions for this cake many times and nothing about it ever tripped my trigger. Until! Until I watched them make it. The recipe says to poke lots of holes in the cake with a toothpic so the caramel sauce can seep in.. well Paula, bless her buttery clogged arteries, used the end of a wooden spoon to poke LARGE holes in the cake before pouring the sauce on. Yes, kids. THAT'S what tripped my trigger. (it never does take much for me)

So off I went.. as per usual, when baking cakes, my cake turned out beautifully - it rose to a lovely height and turned all goldeny brown and delicious looking. The smell was heavenly, as even Paula's recipes are not sacred in my kitchen. I gave it a lil twist and added 3 ripe bananas to the batter. *swoon* My caramel sauce turned out beautifully as well. As it pretty much should have, considering I've been making it for years now (is essentially the same recipe as Gracie's Toffee Sauce for her Croissant Bread Pudding). The poking of big holes went without a hitch.. the pouring of the caramel sauce was also a breeze.

And then.

And then it was time to frost with caramel frosting. The making of the frosting started off well - again with the caramel sauce base, then you transfer the sauce to a mixer and beat in a pound of confectioners' sugar and vanilla. It's a little thin at first so you beat until it becomes "spreading" consistency. Well my loves, somehow I drove past spreading consistency and crashed head on into fudge consistency. Seriously. I now know how to make caramel fudge. Seriously good caramel fudge. But did I press my fudge into a pan, cut it into little squares and enjoy it as fudge? No. I figured it was still spreadable.

Yeah. No.

I'll let my photos do the rest of the talkin'. And if you are wonderin' if it still tasted good.. well it did. The cake was moist, sweet and banana-y. The caramel sauce and the caramel "frosting" was buttery with just the right amount of salt to counter the super sweet that caramel can get. It was just a long chew to get through a slice. :P

Have a fabulous weekend! If you're bored.. make yourself some caramel fudge!

Bobby's Caramel Cake w/twist
Perfectly baked cake with perfectly cooked caramel sauce

Bobby's Caramel Cake w/twist
Bottom layer covered with the caramel sauce

Bobby's Caramel Cake w/twist
Top layer with oozing caramel sauce *swoon*

Bobby's Caramel Cake w/Twist
Caramel fudge covered Banana Caramel cake - not the best looking, but not THAT bad, right? Right??

Bobby's Caramel Cake w/Twist
The Other Side. :P

Bobby's Caramel Cake w/twist
A slice of delicious Banana cake filled with decadent caramel sauce and slathered with a very thick layer of caramel fudge. Gah.

xoxo

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Comments on "Wish Me Luck! Also, My Mad Frosting Skillz are Back!"

 

Blogger Gretchen Noelle said ... (2/23/2008 7:06 AM) : 

What a great idea to make big holes to really enjoy the caramel sauce with. Yum!!!

 

Blogger Jessica said ... (2/23/2008 8:54 AM) : 

I had made two caramel frostings prior to watching the Deen episode you refer to. Whoever can spread caramel fudge frosting might well be immortal, or should at least be immortalized. I want that fudge consistency, but I don't want my cake to look like it's covered in caramel scabs. Where's the middle ground?!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2/23/2008 9:00 AM) : 

Sure looks delicious, though! I love the idea of adding in the bananas.

 

Blogger MyKitchenInHalfCups said ... (2/23/2008 11:00 AM) : 

Nobody can make me laugh quite like you do Lisa.
But somehow I think if you can eat it and enjoy it can't really qualify as KD. But it's great fun!!
Wishing you happy & lucky juju.

 

Blogger Cakespy said ... (2/23/2008 11:46 AM) : 

Are you kidding??? This looks amazing!! Wow. And again, WOW.

 

Blogger Mary said ... (2/23/2008 1:42 PM) : 

Oh I'm drooling. I especially like the picture with the thick carmel frosting with the carmel sauce leaking out. Woah that looks good.

I personally like to just sit there and push the button for the slot machines when we go to the casino. If it takes me longer to lose all my money that's winning in my book! :)

 

Blogger Helene said ... (2/23/2008 4:37 PM) : 

I hate those tiny ttothpick holes recipes make you do...drill baby! drill!! I am so coming over to straighten out that "other" side!! Hope you are enjoying yourself at the casino!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2/23/2008 6:23 PM) : 

I've been dreaming of makin' this cake for weeks!!!! Car-a-mel yumyum. The banana sounds like a great addition.

 

Blogger Bron said ... (2/23/2008 9:50 PM) : 

Looks great to me, I'd love a slice with my cuppa right now!

 

Blogger glamah16 said ... (2/23/2008 11:12 PM) : 

Stay away from the Bingo! However move aside as i want apiece of that Bannana Carmel cake now.

 

Blogger Elle said ... (2/23/2008 11:43 PM) : 

I'm falling on the floor laughing kiddo! Wish you far more luck than you had with the frosting! Bet it was delicious anyway. Especially like the photo of the other side...so full of caramel sauce the cake just coudn't contain itself :D
Have a great Casino Trip & bring home a bundle.

 

Blogger Peabody said ... (2/24/2008 1:29 AM) : 

Holy cow that is some good looking cake. I am such a sucker for oozing caramel!!!!

 

Blogger Valerie Harrison (bellini) said ... (2/24/2008 9:15 AM) : 

I would have caramel cake for breakfast. I think this blogging in the wee hours is just making me hungry. Good luck at the casino:D We have a small casino here...but I ahve never hit the jackpot....yet :D

 

Blogger Tracy said ... (2/24/2008 9:25 AM) : 

It looks yummy to me!

When I do caramel frosting, I stop short of spreading consistency, and I just pour it over the cake. A fair amount ends up on the platter around the outside of the cake, which I'm happy to eat with my fingers!

 

Blogger Megan said ... (2/24/2008 10:11 AM) : 

I certainly wouldn't turn down a slice of that! Good luck at the casino.

 

Blogger Shelby said ... (2/24/2008 11:17 AM) : 

Good luck at the casino! I'm going to the casino myself in just a couple of weeks - for the first time!

I love the cake pic - looks so yummy! I will to "find" a special occasion to try this one! Thanks!

 

Blogger Chris said ... (2/24/2008 10:19 PM) : 

Win lots my friend! And, if you see Bobby along the way, after you tell him about the cake, tell there is a redhead in Atlanta that wants to "chat" with him...ha!

 

Blogger kellypea said ... (2/25/2008 9:10 AM) : 

So I'm sitting here, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my J.O.B. and I see this cake. It's looking pretty delicious if you ask me. I'm loving the oozing caramelly stuff coming out of the layer in that one shot. And the waves of frosting on it. Jeez.

 

Blogger Cheryl said ... (2/25/2008 10:36 AM) : 

I made this before. Its super, super, super sweet and looks oh so good. Love your version. Hope you didn't lose the bank at the casino, my little gambling friend.

 

Blogger Jenny said ... (2/25/2008 11:11 AM) : 

okay I ran out and made a double batch of the caramel apple pudding cake (yes, seriously, a double, which I enjoyed most of it) and now I need to go out and make this too! Oh man, the caramel this month!
PS Good luck at the casino!

 

Blogger Deborah said ... (2/25/2008 4:39 PM) : 

I think it looks like a little bit of heaven!

 

Blogger Proud Italian Cook said ... (2/25/2008 8:47 PM) : 

Totally drooling!! I want a piece of this!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2/26/2008 1:42 AM) : 

Thought I´d drop by to say hi and the first thing I see is your caramel frosting. *slurp slurp* Looks really good and great idea with the big holes. Did you have any luck at the casino? Hope you won big bucks *wink*.

 

Blogger Kelly-Jane said ... (2/26/2008 3:22 AM) : 

I have this one and the coconut on my list to try.

The words caramel fudge does it for me! Sounds and looks delicious.

 

Blogger Tempered Woman said ... (2/26/2008 2:15 PM) : 

OK~ I have to just say it. I would so have eaten this cake without hesitation. Looked mighty fine to me- bordering on perfection. Of course I'm a total caramel addict but whatevah!

 

Blogger Carrie said ... (2/26/2008 9:48 PM) : 

You made me want to lick the computer monitor...always a good sign for you...never a good sign for me. This will definately have to me my next cake adventure. Thanks sooo much for sharing :)

C.L.
http://fieldsofcake@blogspot.com

 

Blogger jasmine said ... (2/26/2008 9:52 PM) : 

*dool*

That looks like an awfully big cake for such a little you...I'd be able to help you with some of that.

*drool*

j

 

Blogger Oye Cookie! said ... (2/26/2008 11:37 PM) : 

yowzers! love all that caramel!!!

jennifer
www.oyecookie.com

 

Blogger Half Baked said ... (2/27/2008 4:44 PM) : 

Looks delicious if not beautiful:) It looked good to me with just the caramel sauce. Then the carmel frosting *drool*!

 

Blogger Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said ... (2/28/2008 2:52 PM) : 

Ooh I'd love to take a big ole bite out of that Bobby Deen...I mean Caramel Cake. HAha! He is just the cutest thing, I swear! Now go have fun at the casino. I love the slots...no button pushing either. You have to pull that lever baby!!! Get the whole effect.

 

Blogger creampuff said ... (2/29/2008 5:45 PM) : 

Hold up! Bobby Deen is single ... WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED???

Please add "hire better peeps" to the list of things to do when DB makes us gazillionnairesses.

Love the cake ... wish I could have had some!

 

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