Book Club Cookbook: Caramel cake recipe

Caramel cake from "The Book Club Cookbook"Caramel cake recipe from "The Help"

Demetrie is the maid that Kathryn Stockett’s family employed while she was growing up, and who partly inspired Kathryn to write "The Help"

“Demetrie was best known in Jackson for her caramel cake and the recipe for icing was printed in the Junior League of Memphis cookbook. You felt loved when you tasted Demtrie’s Caramel Cake,” writes Kathryn Stockett.

The recipe for Caramel Icing is adapted from "The Memphis Cookbook;" recipe submitted by Mrs. Phil Thornton, Jr. The cake recipe was originally served at a tailgate at Ole Miss, Skeeter’s alma mater, and is adapted from Saveur (August 2007).

NOTE: To make self-rising flour at home: Add 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of all-purpose flour. For this recipe, you would need to add 5 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1-3/4 teaspoons of salt to the 3-1/4 cups of all-purpose flour.

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups sugar

5 large eggs

3-1/2 cups self-rising flour

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Never Fail Creamy Caramel Icing (recipe below)

1. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together for several minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in flour. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk and baking soda and beat into flour mixture. Add lemon juice and vanilla then beat well. Divide batter evenly among three cake pans. Bake until centers of cakes spring back when lightly pressed, 30-35 minutes. Let cakes cool in their pans.

2. When cool, remove cakes from pans. Put one layer on a cake plate. Brush one-third of the icing over top and sides. Set another layer on top and repeat icing and layering process, then repeat process again with remaining layer.

3. To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Never fail creamy caramel icing

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

5 cups sugar, divided

1-1/2 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Light cream (optional) for thinning

1. Mix eggs, butter, 4 cups of sugar, and the milk in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until butter melts. At the same time, melt 1 cup of sugar in a medium skillet slowly, over medium-low heat, until brown and runny. You don’t want the browned sugar to harden, so it’s important to cook these simultaneously. Remove sugar from heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. Raise the heat to medium on the egg mixture and add the browned sugar. Cook until it reaches the soft-ball stage (235 degrees); when you drop a bit of it into cold water to cool it down, it forms a soft ball; or until mixture leaves side of pan. This takes about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until icing reaches spreading consistency, about 5-10 minutes. If it gets too thick, add a little cream.

---  Excerpted with permission from "The Book Club Cookbook" (Penguin Group, $21.95) by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp