Milky Way Cake

My friend Wendy lost her mojo. Somehow, the Milky Way cake has defeated her. She has made this cake a hundred times over and one day it all went wrong. She's not sure how. She's not sure why. She used the same recipe every time. It's just that one day the cake decided to stop baking for her. It would boil over the pan. It would fall in on itself. It would smoke up the house and make a horrible mess in the oven. So...when I was staying with her for the month, she challenged me to conquer the Milky Way cake. I think it was her way of getting back at the cake for giving her so much hassle. I made the cake. I beat the cake. And I did it all for Wendy. I did it so she could say "take that Milky Way cake!" And I did it like this:

First I gathered my ingredients.

Then I took my beautiful Milky Way bars...

And chopped them into pieces.

Half the butter gets cut into pats and thrown into a saucepan or double broiler...

Toss the chopped candy in with the butter.

If you don't have a double broiler, no worries. Just use a pot of boiling water with a bowl set on top.

Stir the candy and butter frequently as they begin to melt.

Keep stirring and melting....

At this point you may feel as though the mixture will never actually mix...just keep stirring and melting and mixing.

But eventually everything will turn out as it should. Now set this aside to cool a bit. While the candy, butter, melty mixture is cooling...

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside.

Take your sugar and the rest of your butter and cream them together in a large mixing bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter sugar mixture.

In an alternating manner, add the flour...

And buttermilk. Mix well.

Then add the candy and butter mixture; mix well.

Next, add the vanilla and nuts.

This works best if you fold them in instead of trying to use the mixer like I did. After everything is mixed together, pour into a greased and floured bundt or tube pan and throw in the oven.

**NOTE** If you bake this cake until the tester comes out clean the cake may be overdone. It will have a brownie-like consistency.

Once the cake is baked, repeat the melting process with the candy and butter for the frosting. Add in the vanilla and melt in the powdered sugar, make sure you stir until the powdered sugar dissolves. Add milk until desired consistency. (Sorry no pictures of this step).

Quickly frost the cake while the frosting is still warm (it dries EXTREMELY quickly).

Top with more nuts if desired.

Serve....

And enjoy.

Milky Way Cake
Recipe adapted from several in my friend's recipe binder.

Serves 16

Cake Ingredients:

• 8 (1 ¾ ounce) Milky Way bars (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 cup butter, divided (I used salted butter)
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 ½ cups cake flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 (1 ¾ ounce) Milky Way bars (chopped into small pieces)
• ½ cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 1-2 cups confectioners sugar depending on desired consistency
• ½ cup nuts (optional)

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine candy bars and ½ cup butter in a saucepan; melt over low heat; set aside to cool slightly.
3. In large bowl, cream remaining ½ cup butter and sugar.
4. Add eggs to sugar mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. In separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda.
6. Alternate between adding flour mixture and buttermilk to butter/sugar mixture; beat until smooth.
7. Add melted candy mixture and mix well.
8. Stir in vanilla and nuts.
9. Pour into greased and floured bundt or tube pan and bake for 70-80 minutes or until done. (Cake is done when set and batter begins to shrink from sides of pans, if cooked until tester comes out clean, cake will be overdone).
10. Cool on rack for about 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely before frosting

Frosting Directions:

1. Melt candy bars and butter in saucepan over low heat; add in vanilla and mix well
2. Add in sugar and milk (add these ingredients until frosting is desired spreading or pouring consistency).
3. Add in nuts if desired (you can also top the cake with the nuts after it is frosted).
4. Spread or pour frosting over cake while still warm.
5. Allow frosting to set before serving.
6. Serve, eat, and enjoy.