Sweet-and-Salty Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake pans with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
Pour the Devils Food Cake batter into the prepared pans and bake as directed.
While the cake layers are baking and cooling, prepare the Caramel Buttercream, if you have not already done so.
Set it aside.
Once the cakes are at room temperature (or are out of the refrigerator or freezer, if prepared in advance), ice the cakes with the caramel icing, reserving some of the icing for decorating the cake (see Icing a Cake, page 14).
Dont refrigerate the cake after finishing the final coat.
With the cake on cardboard, a turntable, or cake plate and working over a sheet of parchment or waxed paper to catch falling pretzels, gently press the chopped pretzels, a small handful at a time, into the sides of the cake until the sides are thoroughly coated.
Fit a pastry bag with a medium round tip and fill it with the remaining caramel icing.
Pipe dots along the perimeter of the cake top (see Filling a Pastry Bag and Piping, page 11).
Lightly sprinkle fleur de sel over the tops of the piped dots.
Inscribe the cake, if desired, and serve it immediately, or keep it refrigerated, covered or uncovered, for up to 3 days.
Bring the cake back to room temperature for about 1 hour before serving.
For something slightly more traditional, leave out the pretzels and salt and instead drizzle Caramel Sauce (page 186) over the top of the cake for a pure chocolate-caramel combination.