Brown Butter Cake with Cookie Dough Frosting

I had a little think about what cake to make my brother for his birthday. Whenever I ask what he might like me to bake, he always asks for cookies- usually chocolate chip.

I ended up finding this recipe from Always With Butter- the cake recipe is from here and the frosting here.

I have only once used brown butter before, though I really do love it. All you have to do is heat it until it turns a deep golden colour, and it will become rich and smell like fudge- when I did this, the whole house smelled amazing. Don't discard any of the butter- including the dark flecks which accumulate at the bottom, as these hold much of the flavour.

Lovely fluffy cake mix. I transferred this to a loose-based 8 inch pan which I have only used a few times- for cheesecakes.

10 minutes through the baking I had a look through the oven window and saw cake mix dripping from beneath the pan...

I scooped up and discarded the oven-floor mix and put the pan on a tray, but it kept leaking- it turned out the pan is a little bent...
Most of the mix was still in the pan, so I transferred it to a 6 inch pan and some cupcake cases. The cooking time was about the same, so if you want to use a smaller pan, the times don't really need adjusting.

Brown Butter Cake

Ingredients:
340g (12oz) butter
330g (1 cup)caster sugar
2 eggs and 4 egg yolks
1tbsp vanilla extract
410g (2½ + 2tbsp) flour
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp salt
300ml (1¼ cups) milk 

Method:
1. Butter and flour a 7 inch cake pan. Preheat the oven to 180◦C/350F/mark 4.

2. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat and continue to heat until it has browned- turned golden and started smelling nutty and sugary. Leave to cool, pour into a dish and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter until pale and smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.

5. Add the eggs and egg yolks, a little at a time, until fully incorporated.

6. In alternating thirds, mix in the flour mixture and the milk. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cookie Dough Frosting

Ingredients:
Frosting Dough
55g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
80g (¼ + 2tbsp) brown sugar

2tsp water
½tsp vanilla extract
60g (½ flour)

¼tsp salt
55g (  cup) chocolate chips  

Frosting
200g (1¾ cup) icing sugar
115g (½ cup) unsalted butter
pinch salt
½tsp vanilla
1tbsp milk

Method:
1. Beat together the butter and sugar for the dough, and stir in the water, vanilla, flour and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips.

2. Beat together the icing sugar, butter and salt for the frosting, and mix in the vanilla and milk.

3. Add the dough to the frosting and mix until well combined.

Ganache

Ingredients:
170g(1 cup) chocolate
90ml(3/8 cup) double cream

Method:
1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl.

2. Bring the cream to a simmer and pour over the chocolate. Leave for 5 minutes until whisking till smooth. Chill until the consistency is suitable for spreading.