A buttery soft vanilla layer cake blanketed with a simple (no candy thermometer needed) caramel icing! This Caramel Cake is a sweet and simple old-fashioned cake recipe that I think you’re going to love. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Oooh, you are going to love this caramel cake. With its layers of tender, buttery vanilla cake that perfectly complements that rich, decadent caramel frosting…
I’m usually more of a chocolate cake person myself, but this recipe has made a convert out of me. Even Zach wanted a second slice, and he hardly has a sweet tooth at all. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet like you might expect. While the icing is definitely super rich, somehow it doesn’t seem overbearingly so when coupled with the cake, which is exactly the balance I was hoping to achieve when I started developing this recipe.
The actual cake layers that I used for this caramel cake recipe are actually adapted from my favorite vanilla cake, only made with the reverse creaming method. Let’s talk a little bit about that, in case you’ve never used this method before…
What is Reverse Creaming?
Reverse creaming simply means that instead of the traditional method of creaming our butter and sugar and other wet ingredients in one bowl and our dry ingredients and another and then combining the two (carefully, of course, so we don’t over-mix), we do things… a little backwards.
We start by combining all of our dry ingredients and sugar in our bowl, then gradually, one tablespoon at a time, beat in the butter until it is incorporated and you have a mixture that looks sandy (see first image, above). We then add our remaining wet ingredients and stir until everything is completely combined. You don’t really have to worry about over-beating our batter the same way we do with traditionally creamed cakes (like the layers in my coconut cake).This method yields a cake with a fine, plush crumb. It was the perfect choice for my caramel cake.
Reverse creaming is not by any stretch my own invention. It’s been around for years and its popularity is mostly attributed to Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible. I’ve tried this reverse creaming method on many of my existing cake recipes and it works well. While I don’t prefer it for all cakes, it’s actually the only way I make my vanilla cupcakes anymore!
Caramel Frosting
The cake layers are of course an important part of the caramel cake, but when all is said and done it’s really just vanilla cake. Soft, tender vanilla cake with a moist crumb and brown sugar in the batter for a hint of caramel taste, but still. What really makes this recipe a caramel cake is that glorious crown of caramel frosting.
It’s rich, sweet (much sweeter than my stand-by favorite cream cheese frosting), and has true caramel flavor because we start on the stovetop with a real caramel base (it starts much the same way as my caramel sauce). Melt together brown sugar, butter, salt, milk, and cream. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and then bring it to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Now you have your caramel base (first photo, above).
Transfer this hot caramel to a large bowl, add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until you have a spreadable icing consistency (second photo, above). If it’s too thin and dripping off of your cake, just beat it longer. In the video (below the recipe) I was a bit over-ambitious and tried to spread my frosting while it was still just a tad bit too warm, which caused my layers to start sliding a little bit. A little patience goes a long way!
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like:
Are you more of a visual learner? Check out my YouTube channel where I show you exactly how I make this cake and frosting step-by-step in my own kitchen.
Caramel Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour (may substitute 3 ⅓ cups or 375g cake flour)
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces
- ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil may substitute vegetable oil or other neutral oil
- 1 ¼ cup (295 ml) whole milk room temperature preferred
- 3 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
CARAMEL ICING
- 2 cups (400 g) brown sugar² firmly packed
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter cut into pieces
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and lightly grease and flour the sides and bottoms of two 8” round baking pans¹. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl, using an electric mixer), stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt until well-combined.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, add butter, one tablespoon at a time, until mixture resembles sandy coarse crumbs.¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- Stir in oil until well-combined.¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil
- In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.1 ¼ cup (295 ml) whole milk, 3 large eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture. Once combined, pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared pans and bake on 350F (175C) for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow cakes to cool for 15 minutes and then invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare caramel icing:
CARAMEL ICING
- Combine brown sugar, butter, salt, milk, and heavy cream in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-heat. Stir frequently until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil.2 cups (400 g) brown sugar², 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk, ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
- Once boiling, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and pour into a large heat-proof bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before proceeding.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and stir with stand mixer or an electric mixer until combined. Increase speed to high and stir until caramel mixture is almost completely cooled and icing reaches a spreadable consistency.2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread over cake. If icing is dripping off of cake (especially when icing the sides), let it cool a bit longer before proceeding.
- Allow icing to solidify completely before slicing cake and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
lisa
any experience in subing with GF flour blends?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lisa! We haven’t tried this recipe with a gluten free flour, but any 1:1 blend *should* work here. If you do try it, please let us know how it goes!
Nicole
Hi,
I see the caramel frosting calls for 1/3 cup each of whole milk and heavy cream. Could I use 2/3 cup of half and half instead?
Sam
I think that will work here. 🙂
Niya
caramel incing is rlly good and the cake taste good but is so crumble it fell apart
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Niya! Is it possible the cake was overbaked? That would make it crumble. 🙁
Mariah Jay
Very easy recipe to make. I love how the ingredients were with the directions so I didn’t have to keep going back and forth. I made this cake for my mom’s birthday and she absolutely loved it. The icing turned out amazing and the cake was moist. Overall a great recipe and will make again. Thank you!
Lynn
Hello, can you tell me if I can use avocado oil for the oil or even replace oil with more butter? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Lynn! Avocado oil is a great substitute for canola/vegetable oil. I have actually started using it as a substitute in my cakes and am working on updating my recipes to reflect this. 🙂
Lynn
Great to hear Sam – thanks so much for your reply!
GREGORY
This recipe turned out absolutely perfect! I substituted cake flour, and this was a hit with my family. The sponge was so soft, moist and tasted so good! My only issue was with the caramel, I didn’t think the recipe as written yielded enough for me. Overall, a definite recommend and this will be my go-to recipe for caramel cake!
Susan Kelly-Gilbert
I made this for the first time and the family reviews were very positive. The cake was light, moist but a bit more crumbly that I’m used to. I did sift the flour first. But I wonder if I didn’t get the right sandy, crumb from cutting in the butter. While the butter was room temperature, perhaps still not soft enough? I feel it could have also used more icing and will probably increase the recipe by at least +25% on my next effort. Thanks for a great recipe
Kathryn
I love to bake with buttermilk and I don’t have any whole milk in the house. How should I adjust the baking powder if I use buttermilk instead? Will I need to add baking soda because of the added acid? I am guessing maybe 2tsp. baking powder and 3/4tsp baking soda instead of 1tbsp. baking powder alone. Your suggestions???
Sam
Hi Kathryn! I’m honestly not sure how the buttermilk substitution will work here. You could certainly try it, but I don’t think I would alter any of the baking soda/powder in the recipe.
Kathryn
I had to go ahead and bake the cake before I heard back from you because I needed to take something to a church social. I did use buttermilk and made the baking soda/powder adjustments. Delicious! Ladies who went through the line without a piece were going back later for a taste when others were raving about it. I can’t believe I was adventurous enough to take a cake I had never baked before and with adjustments to the recipe–but it turned out great! Lots of compliments! When I have some whole milk in the house I will have to try the recipe again to compare. The layers rose beautifully and had a great crumb. It did take about 5 to 6 minutes longer to cook than the recipe suggested–which is usually not the case with my oven–so perhaps the buttermilk made a difference there??? Only other difference I could see from watching your video is with the buttermilk the cake layers did bake up with a dome in the middle. I just sliced it off the bottom layer and left the other dome for the top. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a winner!!!
Sam
I’m so glad it turned out! 🙂
Deb L.
I made this cake tonight because it looks so good. I’m not sure what I did wrong but it seems so oily. Did this happen to anyone else?
I will try making it again for sure.😊
Sam
Hi Deb! Did the batter seem oily? If it is helpful I have a video in the recipe card that shows how the batter and cake should look as you go. I hope that helps!
Shay
YES! I’m not sure where I went wrong either. I watched the video and thought I was good but the batter was extremely oily. I rounded the top and the inside was oily also. However, I will try to make again later today.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We hope it turns out better this time, Shay ☺️
Jenn
I made this cake for a friend‘s birthday yesterday. I dare say it was the best cake I’ve ever eaten. It was absolutely delicious. I cannot say enough good about it. The video helped tremendously in making it. I will definitely be making this in the near future again. My new favorite cake. My mouth is watering now even thinking about it.
Danni
I used a bundt pan for this recipe which took 55 minutes at 350 and halved the icing. It came out delicious! Definitely saving this recipe.
Robin
Delicious caramel cake! I made this for my son’s Halloween birthday & it was a crowd pleaser. I did need to bake about 13 minutes longer, but just kept an eye on it – plus, I used cake flour, so yummy!
Jennifer
Hi Sam. My 8 inch cake rounds aren’t deep like yours. If I do (3) 8 inch pans for this recipe, what would you suggest for bake time?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! Unfortunately I don’t have a good guess on the time for you as I haven’t tried it. I would just be sure to keep an eye on it as it bakes. 🙂
Teresa
Hi Sam,
Do you think it would be okay to use one cup light brown and one cup dark brown in the frosting. I plan to make this for my father in law’s birthday because he is always talking about caramel cake that his mom used to make. Thank you for your recipe and advice.
Teresa
Sam
Hi Teresa! That will work great! That’s actually my preference, and what I personally do when I make the cake. 🙂
Carolyn Ross
is the icing a buttercream frosting
Sam
Hi Carolyn! I don’t consider it to be a traditional buttercream.
Alison
Can I make the frosting in advance and store in the fridge or will it ruin the consistency?
Sam
Hi Alison! Unfortunately, it’s going to be a bit tricky to make this one in advance. 🙁
ERS
Outstanding recipe that has replaced my regularly made white cake. have you ever made these in 4″ or 6″ cake pans?
Sam
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much! I haven’t tried it in 4 or 6 inch pans but it should work just fine. 🙂
Ferrin
Made this cake yesterday for my birthday and it was super easy and extra delicious! Such a perfect texture for the cake-love the reverse creaming method! The frosting is really good too. Thanks for a delicious (and easy) recipe! I will be trying more of your cakes 🙂
Gina Herak
Hi!
Can this cake be made and frosted the day before and just put in the fridge? I’m having a lot of people over and I have to get a lot of cooking done. Thank you so much! Gina
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Gina! This will work just fine. We would probably leave it covered on the counter though, as the fridge has the tendency to dry out cakes a bit. Enjoy!