What Is a Caramel Cake (and What Makes It Special)
A “caramel cake” typically means a cake — often a vanilla / butter cake base — that is flavored, layered, and frosted with caramel rather than chocolate or plain buttercream. In many Southern U.S. traditions, the caramel frosting is made by cooking sugar, milk, butter (sometimes evaporated milk) until it becomes a thick, golden brown caramel sauce, which is then cooled and whipped into a spreadable frosting. That cooked caramel frosting is more “frosting as sauce” than a standard buttercream.
The luxurious, “fudge‑like” frosting is key; the cake should be moist but not overly sweet, so that the caramel flavor shines. Some versions also swirl caramel into the batter or brush caramel between layers, but the real signature is the cooked caramel frosting or glaze. For example, CookingWithCarlee has a Southern Caramel Cake built on a butter cake with sweet icing made from homemade caramel.
Cooking With Carlee
Also, Sally’s Baking Addiction has a version called Burnt Sugar Caramel Cake, where burnt sugar syrup is used in both cake and frosting to deepen flavor.
Sally's Baking
Because caramel (cooked sugar) can be finicky, a successful caramel cake recipe must carefully manage temperatures, timing, and proportion so the cake isn’t overly sweet, the frosting is stable, and nothing burns.
Ingredient Concepts & Choices
Before giving the full recipe, here are the key ingredient choices and their roles:
Component Role & Notes
Cake base You want a fairly neutral, sturdy cake (butter, yellow, vanilla) — not too dense but able to support the weight of caramel frosting. Many caramel cakes use a butter cake or vanilla sponge base.
Caramel sauce / frosting The heart of the cake. It often uses sugar, milk (or evaporated milk), butter, and sometimes cream. The sugar must be carefully caramelized (or browned) without burning.
Flavor balance Because caramel is sweet, you may include a touch of salt or acidic note (e.g. a little sour cream in cake, or pinch of salt in frosting) to balance.
Moisture & crumb Use ingredients such as sour cream, milk, or buttermilk in the cake to keep it tender. Don’t overbake.
Frosting stability The caramel frosting must thicken enough to spread, but remain soft. Cooling, whipping, gradual addition of butter, and correct sugar to liquid ratios matter.
One credible recipe (HomeStyleCooks) uses a caramel sauce formula with sugar, water, butter, cream, and vanilla to flavor both layers of cake and frosting.
Home Style Cooks
Another “Moist Caramel Cake” (Cakes by MK) uses a yellow cake base with brown sugar elements and a caramel frosting made from cooked butter + sugar + evaporated milk + cream.
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We’ll draw on these ideas and build a full working recipe.
Full Recipe: Caramel Layer Cake with Caramel Frosting
Below is a detailed recipe for a two-layer caramel cake (~8–12 servings). It includes times, tips, and optional tweaks.
Ingredients
Cake Layers
2 cups (≈ 250 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (≈ 60 g) cake flour, or substitute with extra all-purpose (or cornstarch mix)
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) sour cream (or plain full-fat yogurt)
½ cup (120 ml) milk (whole milk)
(Optional: you could substitute part of sugar with caramel sauce in batter, but that risks altering texture — better to keep batter base plain and rely on frosting for caramel flavor.)
Caramel Frosting / Sauce
1½ cups (≈ 300 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (≈ 60 ml) water (to help dissolve sugar at start)
¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
¾ cup (≈ 180 ml) heavy cream or whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of fine sea salt (about ¼ teaspoon, or adjust to taste)
(Optional: a little extra cream or milk to adjust consistency; or use evaporated milk for a richer caramel flavor.)
Equipment & Prep Notes
You will need:
Two 8‑inch (or 9‑inch) round cake pans (2″ deep preferred)
Parchment paper to line the bottoms
Mixer (stand or hand)
Mixing bowls
Measuring cups & spoons
Whisk, spatula
Saucepan (medium, heavy-bottomed) for caramel
Candy thermometer (helpful but optional)
Cooling racks
Offset spatula or long knife for frosting
Optional: bench scraper, piping bag for decorative edges
Prep tips:
Bring ingredients to room temperature — butter, eggs, sour cream, milk. This ensures even mixing and proper emulsion.
Preheat oven to 325–350 °F (163–177 °C) (we’ll specify).
Grease & line pans with butter or nonstick spray, and cut circles of parchment to place at bottoms (for easy cake removal).
Arrange cooling racks — cake must cool fully before frosting.
For the caramel frosting, have butter and cream measured in advance — sugar cooking is fast, so you want everything ready.
Step‑by‑Step Instructions
1. Prepare cake batter
Preheat oven to 325 °F (160–165 °C) (for deeper 2‑layer cakes) — you may need to adjust depending on your oven, but go slightly lower for a longer, gentler bake.
Grease and line your two cake pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer), beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3–4 minutes).
Add eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each, and then beat in vanilla.
Add half of the dry flour mixture, mix on low, then add the sour cream, then finish with the remaining flour mixture, alternating with milk — stir until just combined (avoid overmixing). The batter should be smooth and thick enough to spread but pourable.
Divide the batter evenly between your prepared pans (use scale or eyeball). Smooth the tops.
2. Bake the cake layers
Place pans in the preheated oven, ideally on a middle rack.
Bake for 25–35 minutes (or until a toothpick into center comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter). Baking time depends on pan depth and oven — check around 25 min.
Once baked, remove pans to cooling racks. Let them rest 5–10 minutes, then invert onto racks, peel off parchment, and allow to cool completely.
Important: Don’t frost while warm — the frosting (caramel) will slip and melt.
3. Make the caramel sauce / frosting
This is the heart — you’ll cook sugar, then incorporate butter, cream, vanilla, salt, and cool it into a spreadable frosting.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar + water. Stir gently over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture becomes clear. Stop stirring and let it bubble undisturbed (you can swirl pan if needed) until amber/brown (caramel stage). Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.
Once amber, remove from heat and carefully pour in the cream (it will bubble vigorously). Whisk to combine.
Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking continuously until smooth.
Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
Return to low heat briefly (a minute) to ensure smoothness and break down any bits.
Let the caramel cool (to warm but not hot) — it will thicken. If you have a candy thermometer, aim for ~225–230 °F (soft ballish) for frosting consistency.
Optional: you can beat (cool slightly) to lighten it before using as frosting.
HomeStyleCooks gives a caramel sauce method used in both cake and frosting.
Home Style Cooks
Cakes by MK describes caramel frosting made with butter + sugar + evaporated milk + cream.
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4. Assemble & frost the cake
Ensure cake layers are fully cool (room temperature).
If needed, level the tops of the cakes so they are flat.
Place one cake layer on your serving plate or cake board.
Spread a layer of caramel frosting over the top of that first layer (not too thick — you want balance).
Place the second layer on top.
Frost the top and sides with the remaining caramel frosting. Use an offset spatula to smooth.
(Optional) Use a piping bag or bench scraper for decorative touches (swirls, rosettes).
If desired, drizzle extra caramel sauce (leftover or fresh) over the top edges to drip down, and decorate with nuts, pecans, or salt flakes.
Timing & Workflow
Step Estimate
Preheat, pan prep, ingredient setup 10 min
Mix cake batter 10 min
Bake layers 25–35 min
Cool layers 30–60 min
Make caramel frosting ~15–20 min (including cooling)
Assemble & frost cake 10–15 min
Decoration & final touches 5 min
Total active time ~ 1 hour
Total including passive cooling ~ 2 – 2½ hours
You can overlap cooling and frosting prep (i.e. make caramel while cake cools) to save time.
Tips, Variations & Troubleshooting
Tips for success with caramel
Use a heavy-bottomed pot for caramel so heat is distributed evenly and reduces burning.
When bubbling the sugar, avoid stirring too much (stirring can cause crystallization). Use a brush dipped in water to clean the sides if sugar crystals form.
Add cream carefully (hot cream works best) because sugar is very hot.
Let caramel cool until warm (not scorching) before frosting — if too hot, it’ll run off the cake.
If your caramel frosting hardens too much, you can gently reheat or add a splash of cream to soften.
Adjusting sweetness or balance
Because caramel is sweet, you may include a pinch of salt in frosting (salted caramel style) to counterbalance.
Use sour cream and vanilla in cake to add complexity and cut sweetness.
Don’t over-frost; too much frosting makes it cloying.
Variations & flavor twists
Use brown butter caramel (butter heated until nutty) for deeper flavor (like burnt sugar cake).
Sally's Baking
Use evaporated milk in frosting (as many Southern caramel cakes do) for richer taste.
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+1
Make a sheet cake version (one pan) instead of layer cake — reduce layers and adjust time.
Add chopped pecans or toasted nuts between layers or as garnish.
Use salted caramel (add sea salt flakes on top) for a sweet + salty contrast.
For a simpler version, start with a boxed yellow or butter cake mix and replace part of sugar with caramel or swirl caramel, then frost with caramel buttercream (semi-homemade approach). (CleverlySimple offers a semi-homemade caramel cake version)
Cleverly Simple
Use a burnt sugar syrup method (cooking sugar darker) for deeper flavor in both cake and frosting.
Sally's Baking
Common problems & fixes
Problem Likely Cause Fix / Prevention
Frosting too runny Caramel too hot or too much liquid Let caramel cool more before whipping; reduce cream; chill before applying
Frosting too stiff / hard to spread Caramel overcooked or too much sugar Gently warm frosting, add a bit of cream
Cake layers dry Overbaking or insufficient moisture in batter Bake just until done; use sour cream/milk; don’t skip butter
Frosting slides off cake Cake warm, frosting too thin Chill cakes fully, frost in cool room, ensure frosting consistency
Caramel burns High heat or thin pot Use medium heat, heavy pot, watch carefully
From a Reddit user’s experience:
“My solution is to add 1 tablespoon of corn syrup to the mix. Stir constantly until it’s reached the desired temperature: which should be soft ball stage. ... when you add the other ingredients … beat it on medium high until it becomes light and fluffy.”
This tip suggests that a bit of corn syrup or similar invert sugar can help prevent crystallization when making caramel frosting.
Full Consolidated Version (Printable Style)
Serves: ~10–12
Prep & Baking total: ~2 to 2½ hours
Ingredients
Cake Layers
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (optional)
2½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
½ cup milk
Caramel Frosting / Sauce
1½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup water
¾ cup butter, cubed
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 °F (160–165 °C). Grease and line two 8‑inch round pans.
In a bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In mixer, cream butter + granulated + brown sugar until light.
Add eggs one at a time, beat in vanilla.
Alternate adding dry mix and sour cream + milk, beginning and ending with dry mix; mix until just combined.
Divide batter, bake 25–35 min until a toothpick “moist crumbs.” Cool in pans ~10 min, then invert and cool fully.
Meanwhile, make caramel frosting: sugar + water → dissolve → cook to amber. Then add cream, whisk, add butter gradually, vanilla, salt. Cool to warm consistency that’s spreadable.
Once cakes are cool, level tops if needed. Place one layer, frost a moderate amount of caramel, stack second, then frost top and sides.
Decorate with drizzle, nuts, or salt flakes.
Chill a bit to set before slicing.
If you lik
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