Burnt sugar (caramel) cake

This was all that was left from my Mum's birthday cake at the weekend by the time I got the camera out. I thought I'd better include the recipe photograph for reference since the last few slices of the cake look as if they have been unceremoniously thrown at a plate.


I experienced a lot of caramel induced rage with this bake and was convinced I had produced a dud BUT... this was actually a really good cake. It had a caramel flavour without being overly sweet and a soft texture, I'm assuming due to addition of sour cream. The sugar shard decoration also provided a fun crunch as well as a pretty stained glass window effect. It's a shame I didn't get a photograph of the cake in its full glory.


Now I have 100g leftover sour cream. Any suggestions on what to bake with it?

Burnt sugar cake
Recipe from Cakes Galore by Valerie Barrett accompanied by my own rage commentary.

sponges:
450g caster sugar
125ml boiling water
175g softened butter, unsalted
3 eggs
300g self-raising flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
200ml soured cream

icing:
125g softened butter, unsalted
250g icing sugar
3 tbsp caster sugar

Start by making a caramel syrup. On a medium heat on the hob heat 200g of the caster sugar in a heavy based saucepan. Stir occasionally until the sugar has melted then cook without stirring until it's liquid and dark golden in colour (I burnt my first batch, which is becoming a tradition whenever I make caramel.) Take off the heat and gradually pour in the boiling water, taking care not to burn yourself as it will bubble fiercely. Return the pan to a simmering heat and stir continuously for a minute until the caramel/sugar has dissolved. (Mine seized into ugly lumps and didn't want to dissolve at all even after a few minutes. I eventually thought I had managed, but I saw more lumps as it cooled.) Pour the caramel into a heatproof measuring jug and leave to cool. 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease two 20cm round sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper. Beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. In a separate bowl sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda. In another bowl (yay, more bowls to wash) mix together the soured cream with 125ml of the cooled caramel syrup (and this is when the caramel went really lumpy, again. I picked out the worst lumps.) Add the flour mix and sour cream to the cake batter, alternating them in a couple of batches, until everything is fully incorporated. 

Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes or until risen, golden and firm to touch (mine easily took an extra 5-10 minutes to bake. They rose really strangely: the sides puffed up but the centre stayed in a sad hollow. Why?!) Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing, mix together the butter, sugar and remaining caramel until soft and fluffy. Sandwich the cakes together with half of the mix then spread the rest on top. As my caramel "syrup" had completely solidified by this point I dumped it and went with a plain butter icing. I don't think the cake missed the extra caramel flavour as it was already sweet.

To make the sugar shards, (yay, MORE caramel) lightly oil a baking tray then put 3tbsp caster sugar into a heavy based saucepan and gently heat until the sugar turns liquid and golden in colour. Quickly pour this onto the prepared tray, tilting it to make sure the liquid spreads evenly. Leave until completely cold then break off into shards and use to decorate the cake.