This is not just your ordinary, Sunday afternoon, need to invite my friends over so I don't eat this whole dang thing, chocolate cake. It's a very special cake, dedicated to a special person. A few bloggers have got together to host a virtual baby shower for Jessica from How Sweet It Is. It's really a shame though (that it's a virtual baby shower, and not a real-life one), because a party with over 65 food bloggers making delicious food is pretty much my idea of heaven. And it's also a shame that I wasn't able to share this cake with Jessica in person, because I know that she would be the first one to appreciate the extra effort I made into trashing it up a.k.a dumping salty sticky caramel all over the top and then sprinkling with Maldon salt. Jessica's level of commitment to providing the world with the most delicious recipes is incredible. If I'm ever feeling a bit down, or lacking inspiration, I head on over to her blog, which is basically a site for all things tasty. And now she has a cookbook Seriously Delish that is just as amazing, and I'll admit that on a few occasions, I've been caught drooling all over the pages.

Jessica's love for food and life is what originally drew me to her blog. Her recipes are inventive and colorful, and I am constantly waiting in anticipation for her new creations. Her writing makes you feel as though you've known her for years. I have not yet got the opportunity to meet her in person, but I want to, because she seems so awesome. When I heard that we were having a virtual baby shower for her, I knew that I wanted to make a cake, because its sort of my thing, and I knew I could have some fun trying to trash-it-up. I chose my favorite chocolate cake recipe from the Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate,

which is one of the easiest and fool-proof cake recipes that I have ever made. I made a salted buttercream frosting and then reserved a bit of the caramel to drizzle over the top, followed by a few sprinkles of Maldon sea salt. This cake is good. I mean really good. So good, that I really did invite 6 friends over to help me eat it because I knew that if I didn't get any help, I was, in fact, going to eat the whole thing myself. Hopefully, sometime in the future, I am able to make this cake for Jessica in person because I feel sort of bad talking up such a big game over here. A big congratulations to you Jessica!

TRIPLE LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

serves 14

CAKE INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cups unsweetened natural cocoa powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup boiling water

SALTED CARAMEL INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

• 2 tsp of light corn syrup

• 1 tsp lemon juice 

• 1/4 cup of water

• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

• 1 tsp of vanilla

• 1 tsp of salt

FROSTING INGREDIENTS

• 2 sticks butter, softened

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• Maldon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Line 3 - 6" cake pans with parchment paper. Grease with butter, and then dust with flour. 

3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. 

4. Add the lightly beaten eggs and combine. 

5. Add the canola oil and the milk and combine. Stir in the boiling water. Your batter should now be fairly liquid. 

6. Divide the batter into the three pans. Place into the oven and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from their pans. Let them finish cooling on a wire rack. 

7. TO MAKE THE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE: place the sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, and water, in a small or medium saucepan. Swirl the pan to combine the ingredients, but do not stir with a spoon. The sugar will look clumpy, but as it heats, the mixture will dissolve and become liquid.

8. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the syrup has turned a medium caramel color, and has reached 350ºF, roughly 10 - 12 minutes. Once you are nearing the 10-minute mark, keep an eye on the caramel because it will reach 350ºF very quickly.

9. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream, vanilla, and salt. (It is easiest if you add the cream, vanilla, and salt to a measuring cup before you take the sugar off the stove. That way you can add the ingredients all at once.) If the caramel clumps, place the saucepan back on the stove on low heat and stir until it becomes smooth. Set the caramel to the side to cool completely. The caramel consistency will be quite liquidy when you remove it from the stove but don’t worry, it will thicken up as it cools. This recipe makes 3/4 cup of caramel sauce.

10. TO MAKE THE FROSTING: Once the caramel sauce is completely cool, combine the 2 sticks of softened butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, and 3/4 of the caramel (reserve the rest for finishing) together in a mixer and beat until a smooth. 

11. Once the cakes have cooled completely, assemble them by placing a thick layer of frosting between each layer. Cover the top and sides with the rest of the frosting and smooth out with a spatula. Drizzle the leftover caramel on top. Finish with some flaked Maldon salt.