I was cruising Pinterest a few weeks ago while Doug was sitting next to me on the sofa. When I came to this Salted Caramel Six Layer Chocolate Cake, he said, “Um, could that be my birthday cake?” Why of course, darling!

So last week I acquired some delicious semi-sweet Scharffenberger chocolate, a whole heck of a lot of butter and cream and went to town. I probably shouldn’t have also made dog treats that day. Or also enchiladas from scratch.

These are important life lessons, people.

So by the time I got to the cake, it was like 8 pm, but I was still certain that I could do it. Until it came time to make the caramel for between the layers, a task I always approach with a moderate amount of dread.

I’ve made caramel before. A few times actually. But somehow something always seems to go wrong. Not always majorly wrong like a ruined pan or a fire. But well, the first time I ever tried to make caramel about a year ago, we had to buy a new saucepan. That’s when I learned that when Martha says “a heavy-bottomed saucepan” she means a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Don’t try it in your flimsy light-weight non-stick Target pan.

Keep a close eye when you add the cream and use a bigger pan than I did.

Or in a pan that’s too small. Apparently. I’d recommend a large saucepan over a medium saucepan frankly. And keeping some baking soda close by just in case.

In my defense, I did not take this picture. I was fetching baking soda from the cabinet to put out the fire. Doug took this picture.

Bamboo skewers keep slippery fillings in place in the refrigerator. This is pre-ganacheing.

After all that, I’m not sure anyone will be surprised that I forgot to take a picture of the finished cake. It was really good though and Doug was happy, which is the important thing.

Happy birthday sweetie! Sorry I almost burned down the kitchen.

The recipe from Martha Stewart can be found here.