Creme Brulee Cake

Directions

1. In a large heavy saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Cool 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a mixing bowl; press plastic wrap onto surface of pudding. Refrigerate 1 hour or until cold.
3. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 3 greased 8-in. round baking pans; grease parchment.
4. In a large bowl, beat oil, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until well blended. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes on wire racks. Remove from pans and cool completely.
5. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter and vanilla over medium speed until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth, 2-3 minutes.
6. To assemble cake, whisk cooled custard on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with half of the filling. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with frosting. Pipe remaining frosting around top and bottom edges.
7. To caramelize topping with a kitchen torch, sprinkle cake evenly with sugar. Hold torch flame about 2 in. above surface and rotate it slowly until sugar is evenly caramelized. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 hour.