Mango Mirror cake

Yellow Cake soaked with Mango syrup, filled with Mango Rabdi fresh cream and frosted with whipped cream, topped by a Mango glaze

For the Cake

Ingredients:
170 g plain flour
65 g custard powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
250 ml (1 cups) milk + 1 tbsp vinegar
220 gm (1 cup) granulated sugar*
125 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (preferably rice bran)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water

Method:
Grease and flour 3 7" pans

In a bowl assemble all the dry ingredients the plain flour, corn starch, baking powder and soda together and sieve together once.

Pre heat the oven to 175 C/350 F.

In another bowl put in the milk and vinegar and allow it to sit for about five minutes. Put in the granulated sugar and oil and blend with a blender until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Now put in the sieved dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients, add the additonal 2 tbsp water and blend with a blender until well mixed about 3 to 4 minutes.

Put the batter into 3 7" pans; weigh the batter to be sure of even layers

Soaking syrup:

To be mixed into a soaking syrup
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mango puree

Mix all ingredients to make the soaking syrup

For the mango rabdi filling
3/4 ltr milk
8 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
a pinch of nutmeg (jaiphal) powder
3/4 cup cream, chilled
3/4 cup mango puree

Simmer the milk in a broad non-stick pan till it reduces to one third. Add the sugar, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder. Cool the rabdi and keep aside. Whisk the cream till soft peaks form. Add the rabdi and the mango puree and mix well. Chill and keep aside.

For the whipped cream
5 g agar agar
1 cup fresh cream
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Heat a 1/4 cup of the fresh cream, add agar agar flakes to it and then cool until it is warm.
Strain it to remove any flakes

Chill the bowl and the beater blades.
Put the sugar, vanilla and cold fresh cream into a bowl and beat to stiff peaks.
Fold the agar-agar cream mixture into the whipped cream

Mango Glaze

For the Mango Glaze:

1 mango (1/2 cup), peeled, chopped and pureed
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice

Place all the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. When it begins to boil, reduce the flame and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. Allow to come to room temperature and then spread the glaze over the cheesecake with a spoon. Allow the glaze to set over the cheesecake for 2 to 3 hours or more before slicing it.

Assembly:
1. Layer one sponge, sprinkle with mango soaking syrup
2. spread 1/2 cup of rabdi cream generously on it
3. second sponge, sprinkle with mango soaking syrup
4. spead remaining cup of rabdi cream generously on it
5. third sponge, sprinkle with mango soaking syrup
6. cover sides and top with whipped cream
7. chill for a couple of hours
8. make the mango glaze and cool to a pouring consistency
9. pour the mango glaze over the cool cake
10. pipe a star border on the top and bottom of the cake
11. use melted compound chocolate to pipe a happy birthday on top of the cake

Swedish Trials and Challenges

Ever since i made the cinnamon rolls, I have been longing to make Swedish Semlar rolls and the Cinnamon rolls made the Swedish way with cardamom in the dough.  Am planning to make this along with Japan Pan this weekend.  Here are the recipes below with my adaptations for eggs and weights. Recipe taken from what's for lunch honey blog.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Makes: 9 buns

Ingredients: 

• 300g all-purpose flour, sieved
• 160 ml milk
• 15g fresh yeast - replace with 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
• 50g sugar
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cardamom (according to your liking) - this would be about 4 elaichi i think
• 30g butter, melted
• 1 small egg - replace with less than a scant 1/4 cup of thick curd
• Pinch of salt
• 150g lingonberry preserve - use up the strawberry jam in the fridge
• 200ml whipping cream - use up the milky mist cream
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar - replace with plain sugar but add a teaspoon of vanilla
• about ½ cup of milk sweetened with some sugar, for brushing

Method:

1. Heat milk to about 38°C. In a clean bowl mix yeast with sugar and warm milk. Place the flour, cardamom, salt, egg and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer attached with a dough hook. Pour the yeast-milk mixture and knead into a smooth dough - about 8 minutes. Alternatively if kneading by hand it will take a bit longer. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 50 minutes.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into nine equal pieces. Briefly knead each piece between your palms and roll the bits of dough into buns. Place the buns on a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper. Make sure to leave enough space between the buns as they will rise to double their size. Cover the tray and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees C. Brush the buns with the sweetened milk and bake in the oven for 8 minutes. Do keep an eye on them as they will brown quickly.
4. Remove the buns from the oven and brush again lightly with the sweetened milk then allow to cool on a wire rack. Cut the tops of the buns and scoop out the center of each bun (about 2 teaspoons). Fill the centers with the lingonberry preserve.
5. Whip the cream and the vanilla sugar until light and fluffy and dollop 1 or 2 teaspoons of the sweetened cream onto the preserve, filling the buns. Place the tops back on the buns.

Notes 
Serve with steaming strong coffee. 
A popular way to enjoy semlor is to dunk them in deep bowl with warm milk and ground cinnamon

Recipe for the Swedish kanelbullar is also below but this is adapted from Fond Bites Subhashini's recipe for cinnamon rolls (in turn taken from Pioneer Woman) but I'm adding cardamom to the dough.
Ingredients:

Milk – 1 cup
Sugar – 1/4 cup
Vegetable oil  or any oil used for cooking -  1/4 cup
Active Dry Yeast – 1 1/4 teaspoons
All Purpose Flour – 2 cups  (plus 1/4 cup – to be used at a later stage)
Baking powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Baking soda – 1/4 teaspoon
Salt – 3/4 teaspoon

Filling:

Cinnamon powder – 1 teaspoon
Soft Brown sugar or granulated white sugar – 3 tablespoons
Unsalted butter – 2 tablespoons, melted and cooled

Method:

1. Butter an 8 or 9 inch square pan/ two 8 inch round pans with butter. In a saucepan mix together milk, oil and sugar. Bring to boil and take it off heat. Let cool down to luke warm. You have to make sure the milk mixture is lukewarm. If the milk is very hot, or at room temperature  yeast might not start reacting. So ensure the milk is lukewarm. Add yeast and 2 cups of flour and mix well with a wooden spoon until everything is mixed well. It will be a sticky dough. Cover with a towel or cling wrap and place it in a moderately warm place and let it rest to double in size for about an hour or an hour and a half.

2. Sift together the 1/4 cup flour, baking powder and baking soda. Once the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down with your fist. Add the flour mixture and knead well until the flour has been incoporated. You can now refrigerate the dough until it firms up a bit, for an hour or so. Or you can also refrigerate overnight. Once dough is firm, flour your work surface and make a nice ball out of the dough, flatten it to a rectangle roughly and start rolling. Make a rectangle of thickness not less than 2 cms. Brush the top with the melted butter.

3. Mix together sugar and cinnamon powder. Spread it all over the top of the buttered dough. Start rolling from the long side carefully and finish rolling the whole dough.

4. Use a knife to cut the large roll into 16 smaller rolls. Place them carefully in the buttered pan with the cut edges facing top/bottom. Let it rise for about 30 minutes until it proves for the second time. During the last 10 minutes of this proving, pre-heat oven to 175 degree C. Then bake in oven for about 25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

I'm also putting down below the recipe from What's for lunch honey for Cinnamon rolls just because i can't resist feeling  that these would be the original kanel bullar and it would or should taste different from the cinnamon rolls above.  This recipe should be quartered as it makes 40 rolls!

Ingredients:
For the starter dough

• 500 ml milk (125 ml)
• 500g all-purpose flour, sifted (125 g)
• 50g fresh yeast or 6 teaspoon instant dry yeast (1.5 teaspoon instant yeast)

For the buns

• 200g muscovado sugar (50 g)
• 1 ½ tablespoons ground cardamom (just 4 cardamoms should be fine)
• Pinch of salt (skip the salt)
• 550g all-purpose flour, sifted (137.5 g)
• 1 egg  or 1/4 cup yoghurt (hung or thick) (1 tablespoon yoghurt maybe)
• 200g butter, softened (50 g butter)

For the filling

• 200g butter softened (50g butter)
• 1 vanilla bean
• 200g muscovado sugar (50 g brown sugar)
• Ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (skip the egg; since this is only a filling it should not matter so much)
• Pearl sugar or coarse muscovado sugar to sprinkle

Method:

1. Scald the milk by heating it in a small pan until it almost reaches boiling point, then allow it to cool. Scalding the milk makes the finished buns softer.
2. Crumble the yeast in a clean bowl. Pour in some of the tepid milk and mix to dissolve the yeast. Add the rest of the milk and the sifted flour and stir everything together until the mixture comes off the sides of the bowl. Leave to proof overnight in the fridge.
3. Once the dough has risen, remove from the fridge and work in the rest of the ingredients. Start by adding the sugar, cardamom, salt, flour and egg to the starter dough. Knead into a smooth and supple dough. It will take about 10 minutes if you are using a stand mixer, and longer if you knead by hand - about 15-20 minutes.
4. Finally add the softened butter to the dough. This will be hard to work into the dough but it will eventually incorporate, leaving you with a smooth and glossy dough.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place the dough back in the fridge for another 30 minutes. In the meantime make the filling by beating the butter with the sugar and the seeds of the vanilla bean.
6. Divide the dough in half. Using one half, roll into large rectangle of about 1.5 cm in thickness. Using a spatula spread half of the filling over the dough dusting with ground cinnamon as desired. Fold the rectangle into thirds lengthwise: lift a third of the dough towards the middle, then fold down the top third as well, to make a very long and thin rectangle.
7. On the short side of the dough cut about 16 to 20 strips of dough each about 2 cm thick. Take one of the strips and cut right the way through stopping at about 2 cm from the top. Pick up a strip of dough and twist the two ends in opposite directions two or three times and then coil the strip in on itself, tucking the ends underneath and sealing them in place with a dab of water. Once you have twisted all the strips, place them in paper muffin cups on a baking tray. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise for another 60 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
9. Brush each bun with a little bit of egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar or the coarser muscovado sugar. Bake the buns in oven for approx. 8-12 minutes or until light golden in color. Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating.

Notes:

• Butter usually prohibits gluten to develop in the dough so by adding it after the dough has been kneaded helps the gluten process to develop better.
• These freeze well, all you have to do is wrap in aluminium foil and keep in the freezer. Reheat in the oven at 150° C.

Brownie challenge

I always have a problem with brownie recipes.  If i were to tell the truth, i would say that i am not yet satisfied with any brownie recipe that i have made so far.  I never knew it could be so difficult to make a fudgy dense brownie that has a crackly crust and gooey interior but was still neatly sliceable and made without eggs.

I'm going to try three brownie recipes during this week and use up all the brownies at work i think.  Or maybe freeze them and use them at home where we have many brownie/chocolate fanatics among the family.  These are the three recipes that i'm going to try:

The first are from Subhashini's Fond bites - i might need to halve this for the trial.

Really Rich Brownies

Ingredients

1. • 3/4 cup ( 150 gms) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2. • 360 gms dark or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3. • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4. • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
5. • 3 eggs lightly beaten
6. • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
7. • 1 cup (130 gms) all-purpose flour
8. • 1/2 cup milk
9. • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and broken
10. • 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Line 10 inch square cake pan with aluminium foil and leave an overhang to pull out the baked brownie later.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan until smooth. Add the sugars into the melted chocolate. Mix the sugars well until blended, it won’t get fully dissolved anyway.
3. Now add the eggs, vanilla extract, flour and milk and mix well until blended. Do not over mix. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and mix just until incorporated.
4. Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until a tester comes out nearly clean. It should be still gooey inside. If left to over-bake the brownies will become dry.
5. Once done, remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert and then cool the brownies completely on wire racks. Once cool they are ready to be eaten, but they are great to eat while warm too. You can also decorate the brownies

Ingredients:  
Unsalted butter, chopped - 141 grams / 10 tablespoons/ 1 1/4 sticks/ 5 ounces
Sugar - 280 grams /1 1/4 cups / 9 7/8 ounces ( I have measured 1 1/4 in my cup) 
Unsweetened Cocoa powder , natural or Dutch-process - 82 grams /  3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons / 2 7/8 ounces 
Pure vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon 
Cold Eggs - 2, large (refer note)
All-purpose flour - 66 grams / 1/2 cup / 2 3/8 ounces 
Walnut or pecan pieces - 2/3 cup (optional, I did not use)
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon ( I omitted this)


Procedure : Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C / 325°F . Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt (if using) in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave on HIGH power for one minute, then 30 seconds each time, stirring in between ( Or place all of these in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water) Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet or microwave and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret says Deb — it should smoothen out once the eggs and flour are added. Note: Mine was not completely smooth even after adding the eggs and flour. See the picture above.


Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. I used a wooden spoon. This is some amount of effort as the batter will be quite thick, don't tell me I did not warn you! Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.


Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter,  mine took about 40 minutes. Check yours at 30 minutes, bake longer if needed. Let cool completely on a rack. I left my pan on the rack for quite some time, then left it in the fridge, covered with clingfilm overnight. I was determined to get cleaner cuts this time, kids away helped!

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. These are quite rich, my suggestion - make it 25 pieces.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan and line with butter paper.
2 Place a medium heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Place butter in the bowl and let it melt. Remove the bowl from the simmering water and stir in the sugar. It will appear grainy at this point.
3Whisk in eggs, one after the other and add the vanilla essence before adding the flour. Mix in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder until no trace of flour is left, using a wooden spoon. Spread batter into prepared pan.
4 Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Do not overcook. When you find that the edges have gone slightly dry and the top is cracked, you know its cooked.
5 Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares at room temperature and top with walnut (I sprinkled some brown sugar on top). Store in an airtight container.

Edited to add - I have now made Subhashini's recipe and it came out great when i replaced the eggs with two flax eggs.  I got a beautiful crackly crust for the first ever time and a gooey interior.  I was also able to slice it well.  But this is a really rich brownie and an indulgence.  This is not something that you sell at a shop but something you might by as a gooey indulgence or as a treat you serve after you have guests home for a special meal.  It would be great served along with icecream and hot chocolate sauce although it does not really need it.  It does need to be stored in the fridge and you are going to have sticky hands when you eat it without a spoon - all things that go against this being a simple snack but things which make it a rich indulgent treat.

White Chocolate and Strawberry cake

Cake from Sailu's blog - make three cakes after doubling the recipe and bake in the 7" pans
Moisten cake with sugar syrup or straberry syrup using strawberry jam and water
Filling from PAM balsamic strawberry filling
Also a spreadable consistency white chocolate ganache for the filling
Frosting with white chocolate buttercream - half the recipe from veena's buttercream blog
Stick chocolate sugar cookies dipped in chocolate glaze (same as used for doughnuts) and covered with pink white and red sprinkles - about ten cookies on side of the cake
frost top with rosettes and leave a space in the center for a cookie dipped in strawberry glaze and sprinkles
or a red fondant heart (fondant heart does not require space - can be placed on top of the rosettes.
make a bottom cake border (shell should be fine)


Make a trial cake with these components in the small pan.
Halve all ingredients

Make the cake twice with one Sailu's recipe so it will be a tall cake

White Chocolate and Strawberry Mousse for Bake Along #12 modified to use agar agar flakes

• Fresh Strawberries – 200 gms ( 12 to 15 medium sized ) plus 4 to 5 for garnishing
• White Chocolate – 100 gms
• Gelatin / Agar agar – 2.5 g 
• Water – 1/4 cup ( plus 1 tablespoon for topping)
• Fresh whipping cream – 200 gms ( dairy or non-dairy with 30 % or more fat content)
• Icing sugar – 1/4 cup ( plus 1 tablespoon for topping)
• Granulated white sugar – 1 teaspoon
• Pure vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Chill the bowl, blades and fresh whipping cream in fridge for at least 15 minutes
2. powder the agar agar sheets in a blender and soak in cold water (60 ml) for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Hull the strawberries ( remove the green calyx). Cut them into pieces and process it until smooth in your small jar food processor. Strain it and collect the fine strawberry pulp. Measure 1/2 cup of the pulp and reserve the remaining for the topping.
4. Chop the white chocolate and melt it in microwave in busts of 30 seconds until fully melted. Set aside
5. Heat the agar agar powder with the soaked water until agar agar dissolves
6. Take 1/4 cup of the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add 1/4 cup icing sugar to it and heat up the saucepan. Once the sugar dissolves fully, strain and add the hot agar agar mixture into it and mix well until it dissolves completely in the heat. 
7. Add this mixture into the melted white chocolate and mix well. Now add 1/2 cup of the strawberry pulp and mix them all well.
8. Take fresh whipping cream in the chilled bowl, add sugar and beat with chilled blades on medium high speed until soft peaks form.
9. Now add the strawberry mixture and pure vanilla extract into the whipped cream and fold until everything blends well.
10. Now scoop the mousse into the dessert cups leaving space for the topping. 
11. For the topping, add 1 tablespoon of icing sugar to the reserved remaining strawberry pulp. 
12. Soak 1.25 g (1/4) teaspoon agar agar in 1 tablespoon of water. Heat this and add it to the heated remaining strawberry puree.  Mix them all well. Now spoon this topping over the mousse on dessert cups.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies inspired by Brown Eyed Baker

Chocolate sugar cookies

390 g flour
57.5 g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g granulated sugar
100g brown sugar
1.5 tablespoon  flaxseed meal in 4.5 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt; set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and mix to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and again beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and beat until just combined, giving it a final mix by hand with a rubber spatula.

3. Divide the dough in two and shape each half into a round disk about 2 inches high. Wrap both in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (or up to 1 day).

4. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper (it's non-stick and eliminates the need for extra flour) to a ¼-inch thickness. Transfer the parchment and dough onto a cutting board or baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerate and cut out your shapes and place on the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between them. Gather up any excess dough, re-roll and repeat process until all of the dough has been used.

7. Place the baking sheets with the cut-out cookies into the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.

8. Bake until the cookie edges are set, about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Cookies can also be frozen - I wrapped them in plastic wrap and placed in a ziploc bag.

Snickers cake inspired by Brown eyed baker

This is an indulgent treat for valentine's day:
Three layers of moist rich chocolate cake, filled with caramel cream cheese buttercream and nougat-like filling.
Topped with milk chocolate ganache and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce.

Cake recipe from fondbites brownie cake:

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour – 1 cup
• Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
• Butter – 100 gms, chopped
• Dark chocolate – 150 gms, chopped
• Flaxseed meal - 2 tablespoons dissolved in 6 tablespoons water and allowed to set for 5 min whisk this well before using
• Curd - 1/4 cup 
• Light brown sugar – 1/2 cup, tightly packed
• Granulated white sugar – 1/4 cup
• Honey – 3 tablespoons, I used honey
• Vanilla extract – 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degree C. Line up a 7 inch round cake pan with butter and butter paper.

2. Double boil chopped chocolate and butter until both have melted and combined well. Let cool. In another bowl, whisk flaxseed mixture and both the sugars.

3. Add honey, vanilla extract and chocolate sauce into the mixture and whisk until mixed well.

4. Sift flour, baking soda and salt and add it into the batter and fold just until mixed well. Do not over beat. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in oven for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Nougat like Filling:

• Sugar – 1 cup
• water – 1/4 cup
• Light corn syrup/honey/liquid glucose – 1 tablespoon, I used liquid glucose
• Fresh cream – 1/3 cup
• Butter – 1 tablespoon
• Peanuts – 1 cup, toasted

1. Add sugar and water in a saucepan and place on stove on high flame. 

2. Add honey.  Wait till it comes to a rolling boil. 

3. Stir it once and wait till the colour changes to amber. Lesser the colour, lighter the flavour. So wait till the colour changes nicely.

6. Switch off stove and stay away from the sauce pan, add the cream and it will start to bubble. 

7. Now add the butter and switch on the stove again. 

8. Let it thicken up a bit for a minute and then add the peanuts and mix well. Switch off stove immediately.

Caramel sauce from brown eyed baker:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces (120g)
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature (240ml)
1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy saucepan, with a capacity of at least 2 or 3 quarts. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking it as it begins to melt. You'll see that the sugar will begin to form clumps, but that's okay. Just keep whisking and as it continues to cook, they will melt back down.

Stop whisking once all of the sugar has melted, and swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar cooks.

2. Continue cooking until the sugar has reached a deep amber color. It should look almost a reddish-brown, and have a slight toasted aroma. This is the point where caramel can go from perfect to burnt in a matter of seconds, so keep a close eye. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, cook the sugar until it reaches 350 degrees F.

(The lighting doesn't depict the color perfectly in the photo above, but if you look to the left side, you will see there is some darker caramel underneath - this was the predominant color at this point.)

3. As soon as the caramel reaches 350 degrees, add the butter all at once. Be careful, as the caramel will bubble up when the butter is added. Whisk the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the cream into the caramel. Again, be careful because the mixture will once again bubble up ferociously.

Whisk until all of the cream has been incorporated and you have a smooth sauce. Add the fleur de sel and whisk to incorporate.

5. Set the sauce aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then pour into your favorite glass jar and let cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate the sauce for up to 2 weeks. You'll want to warm the sauce up before using.

Caramel Cream Cheese buttercream:

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 113g
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 120g
¼ cup salted caramel sauce
2 cups powdered sugar 220g

 Make the Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes (I like to use the whisk attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it's not necessary). Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.

Assemble the Cake: If your cakes baked up uneven or have domed on top, level off the tops. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Cover with half of the nougat filling and then spread a couple spoonfuls of the salted caramel sauce over top to evenly cover the nougat filling. Top with a second cake layer and cover with the remaining nougat filling and top with caramel sauce. Place the final cake layer on top face-down. Frost the cake with the salted caramel frosting, finishing it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, until the frosting is set.

Make the Chocolate Ganache: While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Begin whisking the mixture in the center, gradually working your way outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.

Garnish the Cake: Transfer the ganache to a 2-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake, letting it push itself outward and flow over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes, giving the ganache a chance to set up. To finish garnishing, drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce over the top and side of the cake, and top with chopped peanuts. Keep the cake refrigerated, removing it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Decorating the cake: tips from Kitchen Kemistry - Cheryl's blog

To glaze a cake

• Thicken the ganache in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or even overnight. It is essential for the ganache to be cold before whipping.
• Using a hand mixer, whisk until fluffy and of pouring consistency. Add 2 tablespoons of warm cream to make the glaze. You may also add 1 tbsp of golden syrup (not corn syrup)/honey/maple syrup to get the glossy finish when poured on the cake.
• Place the cake on a cooling rack. The cake should be not be warm. When the ganache is warm and slightly thin, pour it over the center of the cake.
• DO NOT spread the glaze manually. Allow the glaze to drip and drizzle over the sides. Let it set. Remove the cake carefully without disturbing the dripped glaze and transfer to a serving plate. The glaze gives a mirror like finish.
• This glaze can be used to cover donuts, cookies, poured into tart shells and canape cases.

Layer one : Cake

Layer 2: Caramel Buttercream + Caramel sauce

Layer 3: Cake

Layer 4: Caramel Buttercream + Caramel topping with peanuts

Layer 5: Cake

Layer 6: Caramel buttercream on top and sides

Ganache roses border on top with red hearts sprinkles and shells on bottom like indulge

I heart you written on cake with ganache and the heart should be filled with stripes with caramel sauce and alternate ganache

Can also drizzle extra caramel sauce on top

Cake should look like snickers cake from BEB:

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/04/11/snickers-cake/