Eloise Merrell's Caramel Cake
Why I Love This Recipe
The recipe for Eloise Merrell's Caramel Cake is a traditional family recipe, with a few adaptations. Mrs. Merrell fondly recalls that her "Mother, grandmother, everyone made a 1-2-3-4 cake," but they would put different kinds of icings on it, such as coconut or caramel. She particularly enjoyed the caramel icing that Lenora Lane, a Carrollton resident, made. "I was always asking for the recipe," Mrs. Merrell recalls, and finally Mrs. Lane passed it along.
Mrs. Merrell first makes the traditional recipe for a 1-2-3-4 yellow cake. The secrets to making a good yellow cake are to fold in the beaten egg whites at the end and to not overcook it. She serves this cake on holidays and for her daughter's birthday, because this is her favorite cake.
Ingredients You'll Need
3 cups plain flour
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup sweet milk
Caramel Icing
1/2 lb butter
12 box light and brown sugar
3/4 cup sweet milk
1 box confectioner's sugar
Directions
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg yellows one by one. Add 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the milk and then the last cup of the flour. Beat all the egg whites. Check it with a toothpick to see if it is done.
Caramel Icing
Melt butter, add brown sugar and milk. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add confectioner's sugar and beat with electric beaters until stiff. Cover cake.
