Sweetness is a gift of god. Blending simple ingredients can bring out wonders. Butterscotch, a blend of brown sugar and butter, as simple as it sounds, is the most sought out flavor for the sweet toothed. Though the name doesn’t ring any logic , it has non conclusive theories about its origin. Interestingly , it can be inferred as the latter part of the name indicates “scotch”,which means to end or put a stop, other than being associated with whiskies made in Scotland. The brown sugar with butter melts and then hardens down thus stopping its flow, to form well defined shapes of sweetness, translucently shining with the surroundings. This has always intrigued me and at last i decided to combine the flavor and blend it to a delicious praline cake. The learned and the expertise in the virtual world has helped me a lot in making this and a mere thanks to all of them would not do justice. I dedicate this post to those magic hands which creates art beyond perception which soothes and satisfies all the senses known to us.

The recipe…

(Yields two 8” cakes)

Servings: Depends on how big is your appetite,usually 10-12

Time : Scattered, 3 to 4 hours in aggregate

Difficulty : Medium without kids and husband around, “Difficult” with them 😉

Ingredients

(Cup = 250 ml standard measuring cup)

For the cake

All-purpose flour	1.5 Cups & 6 Tbsp.
Baking Soda	½ Tsp
Baking Powder	¾ Tsp
Unsalted butter	140 gms.
Brown sugar	1 ¼ Cup
Eggs	2 large eggs (Room temperature)
Vanilla extract	1 Tbsp.
Salt	¼ Tsp
Butter Milk	¾ Cup

For the filling and frosting

Water	½ Cup + 4 Tbsp.
Unflavored Gelatin	2 Tsp.
Light Brown sugar	2 Cups
Milk	½ Cup
Unsalted butter	565 gms
Vanilla Extract	2 Tsp

For the butter scotch sauce

Unsalted butter	4 Tbsp.
Dark Brown Sugar	1 Cup
Lemon Juice	1 Tsp.
Salt	¼ Tsp.
Whipping Cream	¾ Cup.
Vanilla Extract	1 Tsp

For the praline

White Sugar	¾ Cup
Almond blanched	¼ Cup

Method

For the cake

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180® Celsius.
2. Line and dust two 8 inch cake pans.
3. Sift together All-Purpose Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Separate Egg yolks and white.
5. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
6. Beat egg yolks with vanilla
7. Beat together brown sugar and butter until soft and fluffy.
8. Blend well the egg yolk with vanilla mix to the sugar and butter mixture.
9. Blend in sifted Flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively to the above mix (8), starting and ending with flour.
10. Gently fold in the egg whites.
11. Pour the mix into the prepared cake tins equally and bake it at 180® Celsius for 40 minutes. (The baking time depends on the oven)

For the filling and frosting

1. Put the unflavoured gelatine into 4 Tbsp. of water and allow it to bloom for 5 to 10 Minutes.
2. In a saucepan, cook together brown sugar, milk and the ½ Cup water in medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Turn the heat low, add the bloomed gelatine and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, till the gelatine is dissolved.
4. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool down to the room temperature.
5. Beat the butter until fluffy, add the cooled gelatin mixture, whip until thickened to a creamy frosting. (The mixture will take some time to turn into the required texture. Expect around 15 to 20 minutes)
6. Mix in the vanilla extract.

For the butter scotch sauce

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and add brown sugar, lemon juice and the salt
2. Once the sugar is dissolved and when small boils are seen, remove the pan from the heat.
3. Add the whipping cream and blend and mix well.
4. Cook for another 10 minutes in low heat without stirring, until the mixture thickness.
5. Remove from the heat and add vanilla extract.

For Praline

1. Caramelise the sugar in low flame until the desired colour
2. Add Chopped blanched almonds
3. Transfer to a parchment paper and allow it to cool
4. Once cool, with a rolling pin crush the ingredients to get praline.

Setting up the cake

1. Cut the cooled cakes into 2 layers, 4 layers in total
2. Spread the frosting in each layer of cake one top of the other; sprinkle it with butter scotch sauce and praline in between.
3. Coat the cake with the remaining frosting to get an even finish.
4. Pour the cooled butterscotch sauce over the finished cake .
5. Decorate it with the rest of pralines and sugar glasses.

And there it is, ready to munch in……