I am Heather Farah, the creator of this recipe. Thrilled that you all like it, but mine uses no heat whatsoever, certainly never a chile! (I have 4 kids, lol). Also, I've *always* used canned crushed & diced tomatoes (again, 4 kids, keeping it cheap). Everyone seems to modify it to their liking anyway, which is great! And yes, you can make a crock pot version, but it's best to do your caramelizing in a pan first and then let it all go in the crock; but I do prefer the higher heat of an oven. More flexibility.

Reviewed On: Feb. 24, 2011

This frosting is incredibly delicious! It really has a TRUE caramel flavor. It was time consuming, and a little tricky to get to the right consistancy, due to my substituting half and half instead of the heavy cream. If you do that, allow for extra boil time to reduce the moisture level. This frosting has the texture of a thick glaze, so bear this in mind when spreading it. It's not going to look like butter cream on your cake. It will, however, be the most delicious stuff you've ever put on a cake!

Reviewed On: Oct. 9, 2004

This cake KICKS BUTT!!!! Oh my gosh was it MOIST!!! Soooo good! And I even messed it up: I went so far as to pour the batter in the pan and put it in the oven before realizing that I'd left out the coffee. It was only in for less than a minute, so I pulled it out, put it back in the mixer and added the coffee (which was cooling in the fridge, hence my forgetting it). I washed the pan, re-greased and floured it, poured the bater back in. I can't believe that in spite of that, it still turned out great! I HIGHLY recommend this recipe!!!

Reviewed On: Oct. 9, 2004