Healthier No-Bake Cookies

This
is a slice of my birthday cake that I made for myself (and yes, I enjoy making my own cake).  It was a delicious ending to a very great
birthday!  (A haircut in the morning (so great because it was getting a
bit bushy and my bangs were getting in my eyes, plus an extra bonus...I didn't
have to do my own hair), lunch at one of my favorites (Pizzeria 712) with
some very lovely ladies, and dinner at my mom's).  It was a happy day!

Pumpkin
Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Salted
Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin
Cake

2
cups granulated sugar

1
cup oil

2
cups pumpkin puree

4
eggs

1
teaspoon vanilla

2
cups all-purpose flour

2
teaspoons baking powder

1
teaspoon baking soda

1
teaspoon salt

2
teaspoons cinnamon

1
teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1
teaspoon allspice

1/2
teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat
oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Beat
eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Add pumpkin, sugar, oil and vanilla and beat
well.  In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking
soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.  Slowly add flour
mixture to pumpkin mixture until blended.  Pour half of the batter into
each baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the
center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove cakes from the oven and let
cook in baking pans for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto a cooking rack to
cool completely.

Salted
Caramel Sauce

Yield:
2 cups

2
cups granulated sugar

12
tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

1
cup heavy cream, room temperature

1
tablespoon fleur de sel

Add
the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy saucepan, with a capacity
of at least 2 or 3 quarts.  Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking
it as it begins to melt.  The sugar will begin to clump, just keep whisking
and the clumps will melt as it continues to cook.  Stop whisking once the
sugar has melted and swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar cooks.

Continue
cooking until the sugar is a deep amber color and has reached 350 degrees on a
candy thermometer.  As soon as the caramel reaches 350 degrees F, add the
butter all at once.  Be careful because the caramel with bubble when the
butter is added.  Whisk the butter into the caramel until it is completely
melted.

Remove
the pan from the heat and slowly add the cream into the caramel.  Whisk
until all the cream has been incorporated and you have a smooth sauce (at this
point, I pour mine through a fine mesh strainer to make sure there were no
sugar clumps).  Add the Fleur de Sel and whisk to incorporate.

Set
the sauce aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then pour into a glass jar and
let cool to room temperature.  The caramel sauce can be refrigerated for
up to two weeks.

*After
my caramel cooled, it wasn't as thick as I wanted it (it was measuring at more
than two cups) and so I put it back into the pot and cooked it over medium heat
(low rolling boil) until it thickened a bit and measured at exactly two cups.

*As
my caramel sauce sat on the counter in a bowl, I would lift a big spoonful of
the caramel above the bowl and would let it drip slowly off the spoon back into
the bowl.  The color was so amazing, dark and rich and it was just so
smooth, I felt excited and tight inside (crazy, I know).

Recipe
from the Brown Eyed Baker

Salted
Cream Cheese Frosting

1
pound cream cheese, softened

1/4
cup butter, softened

8
ounces salted caramel sauce

4
cups confectioners’ sugar

Place
the cream cheese and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle
attachment and beat until creamy.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat
again.  Mix in the salted caramel sauce.  Add the confectioners’
sugar a cup at a time.  Beat on high until smooth and creamy.  Set
aside.

Chocolate
Ganache

4
ounces semi-sweet dark chocolate

5
ounces heavy cream

Place
the chocolate in a medium bowl.  Heat the cream until it begins to simmer
and steam.  Remove from heat and pour of the chocolate.  Let the
cream sit for a few minutes, then stir the chocolate and cream together until a
smooth, shiny ganache forms.  Set aside (don't let the ganache cool and
harden).

Assemble
the cake:  Trim any domed tops off both cakes and discard.  Slice
each cake into two layers of similar thickness.  Set a base layer down
(the bottom of one of the cakes will be on the bottom, reserve the other bottom
for the top layer) on the top of cake stand with wax paper underlying the edges
of the cake.  Spread a third of the chocolate ganache on the cake, then
gently spread a half cup (or a little more) of the salted caramel cream cheese
frosting over the ganache.  Gently set a second layer of cake on the base
layer and repeat.  For the last cake layer, which should be a bottom
layer, invert it so the cut side is face down.  Spread a thin layer (crumb
coat) of the frosting around the sides and then frost the entire cake. 
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. 

Recipe
inspired and adapted from Use Real Butter