Into the Sunset: Burnt Sugar Candy Bar Cake

The day we left for our trip last week was my mom's birthday. I love baking for people on their birthday, so I made this always crowd-pleasing candy-bar cake for her birthday:

When you're done wiping the drool from your chin, return and I'll begin showing you how to make it for someone you love...or even better, for yourself :).

This is a recipe from Better Homes and Garden's Test Kitchen Favorites Cookbook. It's a bit of a complex recipe the first time you look at it, but once you break it down and try it, it's not so daunting...plus it's SOOO worth it. I love it for special occasions, holidays, and well, any day you want something absolutely rich and fabulous (which is most days for me).

To start, cook 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to melt (do not stir yet). Once it starts to melt, turn the heat down a bit and stir constantly.

Until it looks something like this:

Cook about 1-3 minutes after this, until it's just a bit darker. Then add 3/4 cup hot water (carefully)...The recipe says this will cause lumps, but that's the nice way of putting it. It's nothing short of a small nuclear reaction. Expect bubbles, steam, and a hard sheet of sugar that gradually melts into a nice syrup. So stir until there are no more "lumps" and remove from heat. Pour into a glass measuring cup and add hot water until there is 1 and 3/4 cup liquid total (no nuclear reaction this time). It will look like this:

Now set that aside. In a large bowl stir together 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp baking soda. In another bowl, beat together 1.5 cups sugar, 2/3 cup softened butter, 2 egg yolks (save the whites in another bowl), and 2 tsp vanilla until smooth. Alternately add in dry ingredients and sugar syrup, beating after each addition.

Now remember those egg whites? Use a clean, dry hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they look like this: fairly stiff.

Then, gently fold the whites into the batter. Now it's ready to bake! Use three 8 inch baking pans, greased and floured (or in my case, doused with Pam cooking spray...sshhh, don't tell anyone). Evenly divide the batter between the 3 pans, then bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto wire racks to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, go ahead and start preparing the icing/toppings. Chop some assorted candy bars. You'll need about 1.5 cups of finely chopped bars, and a few coarsely chopped bars for the top.

For the icing, start with 1/2 cup butter (1 stick salted butter, no substitutes). Heat it in a pan over low-medium heat until melted. Keep heating and stirring until it turns a dark nut-brown color. There will be some sediment in the pan, but that's what gives you such a great aroma and flavor. Once it looks like this, remove from heat and cool for about 5 minutes.

While that's cooling, beat together 8oz cream cheese (softened) and 3 TBSP butter until combined, then beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Next beat in the browned butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gradually beat in an additional 4.5 cups powdered sugar. Then add 2-3 tbsp milk until the frosting is spreadable. It'll look something like this... At this point, try to resist licking the spoon (at least until your done assembling the cake).