Toffee Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Frosting

This cake is like putting on a soothing warm blanket. This time of year I’ll happily take my blankets in the form of cake. Well, anytime of year actually.

It’s an easy cake that’s perfect for parties, events, or just because your sweet tooth is calling your name. It reminds me of a brown sugar pound cake but I find pound cakes in general too dense and usually dry. This one is neither.

The cake itself has the perfect amount of spice and there are toffee bits incorporated both in the cake and on top. I used a boxed spice cake mix but if you have a scratch version you love, use it.

The frosting is where it’s at. But isn’t that true of almost all cakes. Have a little cake with my frosting is the way I am.

It’s a boiled frosting that starts with brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk and as the frosting simmers it takes on wonderful caramel notes. Make sure to whisk and scrape the frosting in the saucepan nearly continuously as it’s boiling because you don’t want it to scorch.

Depending on how much salt you choose to add, it’s almost like salted caramel sauce. You’ll want to eat it by the spoonful, I promise.

To help dispose of everything from cake crumbs, frosting remnants, stray toffee bits, and the plate scrapings from holiday entertaining and various parties, I used my new Moen garbage disposal. Moen now offers seven different disposal models ranging from 1/3 horsepower to 1 HP.

The compact design is lightweight for easier installation and frees up valuable under sink space. The vortex permanent magnet motor helps to finely grind particles to help reduce jamming. Moen SoundSHIELD technology is designed to deaden the sound levels of the powerful disposal motor at work. Moen disposals feature Moen’s limited warranty with in-home service that guarantees help is there when you need. To learn more, visit Moen and here’s where you can buy them.

As a special holiday treat for my readers, Moen is giving away a garbage disposal to one lucky reader! To enter, comment below telling me what’s the best thing you’re making or eating for the holidays. Giveaway is open to all. Ends December 21, 2016. Winner will be contacted by email. Winner is responsible for installation. If you don’t see your comment appear immediately, it’s because I have to manually approve all comments. No need to make a duplicate comment.

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Yield: one 9x13-inch cake

Toffee Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Frosting

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

This is an easy cake that’s perfect for parties, events, or just because your sweet tooth is calling your name. The cake itself has the perfect amount of spice and there are toffee bits incorporated both in the cake and on top. The frosting is where it’s at. It’s a boiled frosting that starts with brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk and as the frosting simmers it takes on wonderful caramel notes. Whisk and scrape frosting nearly continuously as it boils.

Ingredients

• one 16.5-ounce box spice cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 cup toffee bits, divided
• one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. To a large bowl, add the cake mix, eggs, water, oil, and mix up the cake batter according to package directions.
3. Stir in 1/2 cup toffee bits.
4. Turn batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 25 to 29 minutes, or until done. Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack while you make the frosting.
5. To a large saucepan with high sides, add the sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and allow mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes, or until thickened. You’ll notice at about the 4 to 5 minute mark it starts thickening quite a bit and that’s when you know it’s ready. During the 5  minutes, it’s very important to whisk nearly continuously and also scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula very frequently because you don’t want the mixture to stick to the bottom and scorching which it’s prone to doing.
6. Remove saucepan from the heat, add the butter, vanilla, optional salt to taste (adding about 1/2 teaspoon will give you more of a salted caramel flavor), and stir to combine.
7. Evenly pour frosting over cake.
8. Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup toffee bits.
9. Allow frosting to set up for about 2 hours, or until slightly hardened, before slicing and serving. Cake will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 452Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 235mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 0gSugar: 56gProtein: 6g

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