Individual Bourbon Carrot Cakes with Salted Caramel Sauce

carrot cake all dressed up...only place to go is in my mouth

One of my all-time favorite desserts is carrot cake. I've requested it for numerous birthdays and it never disappoints. I don't know if it's the carrots, raisins, spices, or frosting that get me; probably the combination of all of those. I also like to kid myself that carrot cake is healthier for me than another option. We all know that's not true!

It's tough to mess with tradition (perfection), but I think I've managed to create a fun riff on carrot cake. First, I've miniaturized it. We all know that something is better when it's all your own and so much cuter when small! Second, I've added bourbon. The flavors are in sync with the spices of the cake and it helps keep everything moist. Lastly, I've foregone the traditional cream cheese frosting for an oh, so trendy salted caramel topping. Try this non-traditional version, it won't disappoint...

Recipe - Makes 12 individual cakes
Carrot Cakes
1/2C Golden Raisins
1/2C Bourbon (suggest 1792)
2C Flour
1T Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/8 tsp. Salt
1/2C Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
2C Shredded Carrots
6T Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Eggs
3/4C Milk
1T Vanilla Extract

Salted Caramel Sauce
3/4C Granulated Sugar
1tsp. Fleur De Sel, extra for topping
1/2C Heavy Cream

Directions
Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl add the golden raisins and bourbon. Heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until the bourbon is hot and steaming. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the raisins to steep as you make the batter.

In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Then stir in the carrots. Be sure the carrots are fully incorporated. It will look like a lot of carrots, but they will mix in.

Next, in a medium bowl whisk the wet ingredients together: cooled melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Finally, mix everything together by adding the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir until almost incorporated and then add the bourbon steeped raisins and any left over liquid. Stir until everything is wet through.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. The cups will be nearly full to the top. Then bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then gently run a knife around the outside of each of them. Remove the cakes to a rack and allow them to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, make the salted caramel sauce. Put the sugar, Fleur De Sel, and 1/4C water into a heavy-bottom sauce pan. Place over medium low heat. Allow the sugar and salt to dissolve. This will take 7-10 minutes. You can stir this with a wooden spoon, if necessary.

After the sugar and salt have dissolved, increase the tempurature to medium high. Allow the syrup to cook until caramelized. This will take 7-10 minutes. Do not stir the syrup at all, this will cause it to seize up. Also, do not leave the stove while this happens. Your syrup can go from caramel to burnt in less than 30 seconds!

After the syrup has browned, turn the heat off and add the cream in a slow stream. Be careful as the sauce will bubble-up and spatter. This is supposed to happen. After the bubbling has subsided, return the pan to low and stir the sauce with a wooden spoon until the cream is completely incorporated and the sauce is smooth, approx. 2 minutes. Put the sauce in a bowl and allow to cool for 2 hours.

When you are ready to enjoy, top the carrot cake with 1T salted caramel sauce and a sprinkling of Fleur De Sel. Now that's fancy and delicious!