Salted Caramel Poke Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350° F (325° F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or lightly spray bottom only of 13 x 9-inch pan.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 2 minutes. Add apple pie filling; beat 1 minute longer. Pour into pan.
• Bake as directed on box for 13 x 9-inch pan. Cool in pan on cooling rack 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce and the sea salt. Poke warm cake every inch with a straw or handle of wooden spoon, halfway into cake. Pour caramel-salt mixture over cake, allowing it to fill in holes.
• Spread cake with whipped topping. Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup caramel sauce; top with butterscotch chips.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in carrots. Pour into pan.
• Bake 26 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven to cooling rack. Immediately poke holes using fork over top of cake, wiping fork tines occasionally with paper towel to reduce sticking.
• While cake is still warm, evenly pour and gently spread 3/4 cup caramel sauce over cake, working back and forth to fill holes. Rap pan on counter several times to help caramel sauce flow down holes. Refrigerate 2 hours.
• When ready to serve, in large bowl, beat cream cheese and softened butter with electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. On low speed, beat in vanilla and powdered sugar until frosting is smooth and creamy. Drop frosting by spoonfuls; spread evenly on top of cake. Drizzle 2 tablespoons caramel sauce over top.
• Cut into 4 rows by 3 rows. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Cover and store remaining cake in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas mark 4 and line 2 x 20cm sandwich cake tins. In a bowl or freestanding mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the whole mixture is really aerated (if your mixture looks like it might be splitting, add a little of your flour). Add the vanilla, then mix in the flour and baking powder, alternating with the milk. Divide the mixture between the tins and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the top and edges are golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in tins for 10 minutes before flipping onto a wire cooling rack and peeling off the baking parchment. Allow to cool.
• Make the salted caramel sauce by heating the sugar in a medium saucepan over a low to medium heat. Resist the temptation to stir. Instead, when it starts to melt, gently swirl the pan. Cook until amber in colour - this will take 5-6 mins. Remove from the heat and add all the butter. The mixture will bubble up, but let it melt completely before stirring. Slowly pour in the cream and add the sea salt, put back on a gentle heat and warm until it's a smooth sauce. Pour into a jug and leave to cool to room temperature.
• To make the cream cheese caramel icing: cream the butter with a freestanding mixer or in a bowl until light and creamy, slowly adding in half of the sifted icing sugar in parts until fully incorporated and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, 100g of the salted caramel sauce and the remaining icing sugar, then whisk until pale and smooth. Keep in the fridge until needed.
• Once the cakes are cooled, move them to a flat surface and use a large skewer or thick straw to poke holes across the top of the cakes, being careful not to poke all the way through! Drizzle most of the remaining caramel sauce (reserving some for decoration) into the holes in the cake layers, topping up as they sink in, then spread any overspill across the cake layer. Leave to cool completely.
• To assemble, carefully place one layer onto a serving plate and cover with half of the cream cheese frosting. Repeat with the next layer, then use the remaining caramel to create a marbled pattern on top of the cake.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• For the cake: Whisk the applesauce, brown sugar, melted butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and kosher salt to the bowl and whisk until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Leave the cake in the pan to cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Once the cake is cool, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke 25 holes in the cake (5 rows of 5 holes each). Press 2 to 3 apple pieces into each hole; reserve the remaining pieces for garnish. Pour and spread the caramel sauce over the cake and let it stand 10 minutes to sink into the holes and be absorbed by the cake. Sprinkle with the flaky salt.
• Meanwhile, for the cinnamon buttercream: Beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the cream and vanilla and continue beating until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Dollop the frosting on top of the cake, then use a small offset spatula to spread it evenly. Garnish with the remaining apple chunks, a drizzle of caramel sauce and another sprinkle of flaky salt.