Nothing Floats My Boat Like Salty & Sweet

This month's challenge was hosted by some very lovely gals.. Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Jenny of Foray Into Food, and Alex a/k/a Brownie of the fabulous duo Blondie and Brownie. Gals you hosted with grace and knowledge and HUGE amounts of support for the rest of us - thank you so much! :) These three gals chose Caramel Cake, a recipe from talented pastry chef Shuna Fish Lydon, who writes Eggbeater. You can find Shuna's recipe at Bay Area Bites. Like many other members, I went into this recipe with a few reservations. I love caramel, but find it really sweet.. usually too sweet, unless there is a good amount of salt in it. So I was worried about this cake making my teeth scream :P Secondly, a cake that isn't chocolate, pumpkin or carrot?? Unthinkable! hee! But, again like many other Daring Baker members, I am very happy that I put my reservations aside and tried this recipe as this turned out to be a delicious cake.. especially the next day and the following days after. This cake didn't take long to make and I didn't really have any problems.. I was unsure at one point because my butter browned quite darkly. I was afraid I had burned it, but after I strained it through a coffee filter (thanks for the tip, my lovely guru!) I saw that the actual butter was a beautiful color. The cake itself was sweet, but not sickeningly so. It had a marvelous dense texture that I adore. But it was the frosting that made this cake so good to me. OHMYGOD I will make this frosting again and again. It came together easily and was very fluffy and creamy. I chose to use Maldon sea salt and I'm glad I did because I really loved the little "chunks" of salt in the sweet, creamy buttercream. Actually I prefer any cake that's frosted with buttercream to be room temperature so it doesn't feel like I'm eating sponge topped off with a stick of butter. But I really enjoyed this cake cold. I don't know why exactly, but I did. Three other people ate this cake.. Hubbs, who loved the frosting but not the cake so much. My mom, who just kept making a NOM NOM NOM YUM NOM noise the whole time she ate her slice and my sister who thought the saltiness was "interesting" har! All in all, I'd have to say the general concensus was that it was a delicious cake that they wouldn't decline if offered again. ;) Before I end, a big thank you and hugs to Natalie of Gluten A Go Go for helping out with a gluten free version of this cake, and the many talented Daring Alternative Bakers who helped support each other in creating vegan and lactose free versions! :) Warm wishes to everyone for the upcoming holiday season! Now go start CLICKIN'! xoxo