Caramel Cinnamon Cake

After two underwhelming cakes from Piece of Cake!, I finally made a cake that was a success! This past Shabbat, I hosted lunch and whipped up the very easy Caramel Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake. Except that I omitted the raisins and nuts to make it simply, Caramel Cinnamon Cake. Like all of the cakes in this book, this one comes together in one bowl. The cake calls for 4 tsp of cinnamon which may seem like a lot but actually gets muted in the baking. The caramel frosting really puts it over the top, though. I kept swiping at all the drippings that collected under the cake plate, and I wasn't the only one. It definitely deserves to be made over and over and poured over everything, or eaten by the spoonful. ;) My guests left over a nice bit of cake (there was other dessert, too!) so I brought the leftovers to base where it was happily gobbled. The white spots you see are powdered sugar clumps which while not as gross as flour pellets, are still unappealing to look at. I should have strained the glaze, but that was just too much work for such an easy cake. Next time, I suppose. I baked the cake in a tube pan as opposed to a bundt pan to insure release. I also halved the frosting recipe- even half the recipe is plenty.

Caramel Cinnamon Cake
adapted from Piece of Cake!

Cake:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk, divided
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Icing:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

For the cake: Preheat your oven to 350. Grease and flour a bundt pan or line the bottom of a tube pan with parchment.
Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add eggs, half cup milk, oil and vanilla and using a whisk thoroughly mix to combine. Add the remaining milk and whisk until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for ten minutes before turning it out to cool completely.

To make the icing: Place the sugar, margarine and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until margarine is melted and the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil and boil for three minutes, whisking constantly. Transfer mixture to a heatproof bowl and whisk in sugar, salt and vanilla. Gently stir with a wooden spoon until it begins to cool and thicken slightly. Immediately pour over cake.