Blond Texas Sheet Cake with Caramel-Pecan Frosting

       I am blessed with a sweet tooth, and I was craving a dessert with caramel, but wanted something crunchy and crumbly to go along with it.  I wanted to try something similar to a crunch bar, but with a smoother and more buttery texture.  I came across a recipe online that described a cake with a caramel-pecan frosting!  I knew this was the one for me!  I was a bit intimidated that I had to make my own frosting, and I am used to using frosting from a store-bought can so this was something new to me. 

I began by combining cake mix, 1 cup of buttermilk, 1/3 cup of melted butter, 4 egg whites, and a ¼ teaspoon of almond extract.  I turned the oven on the pre-heat setting to 350 degrees.  This allowed me time to beat the ingredients together.  The recipe said to do this for two minutes, but I did it for three to make sure that the ingredients were well blended and absent of chunky bits. The recipe also said to pour the batter into a jelly roll pan.  I used a 13 x 9 pan instead, and I sprayed it with a cooking spray to make sure that the cake did not stick.

After I poured the batter into the pan I allowed it to cook for 20 minutes.  I then poked the center of the cake with a toothpick.  The pick came out clean, and I knew the cake was ready to cool off.

I worked on the frosting while the cake was cooling.  I used a small and shallow pan to bake the cup of chopped pecans for 5 ½ minutes until they were lightly browned.  I baked them on 350 degrees.  While the pecans baked, I combined and whisked 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of butter into a 3 ½-quart saucepan.  I boiled them over medium heat, and continued to whisk the mixture for 2 minutes.  I then removed the mixture from the heat and added 1/3 cup of buttermilk.  I whisked the mixture all together and set it back on the stove onto the broil setting for 1 minute.  Finally I added 2 cups of powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract.  I beat the mixture in a small bowl until it had a smooth texture.  This was not a brilliant idea because some of it spewed out on me and the counter.  I used a butter knife to spread the sticky mixture evenly over the cake.  I was so infatuated with the way my caramel mix had turned out that I forgot to add the pecans!  I drizzled them over the top of the caramel frosting. Yum!

The cake looked delicious, but definitely not as fancy as the online picture.  The cake was still a little warm when I poured the caramel over it so it was slightly runny.  Judging by the appearance, I felt that the cake would for sure have a gooey taste with an added crunchy topping.  I thought the inside may taste a bit soggy from the caramel seeping into the cake instead of setting on top.

The first bite of the cake was moist, and I think the pecans on top actually helped to soak in some of the melted caramel.  It was not as sweet as expected, and I felt the recipe could use some regular sugar instead of brown sugar next time.  Overall, the gooey topping and moist texture was pleasing, but next time I would make it with at least a cup of sugar!

 Recipe Link:  http://www.tampabay.com/features/food/cooking/article1024418.ece