This caramel cake recipe almost didn't make it to your kitchen. Back in 2019, I was helping my mother-in-law clear out her recipe box when we found a grease-stained index card tucked behind her famous cornbread recipe. Written in faded pencil, it simply said "Mama's Sunday Cake - the one nobody could copy." After months of testing and tweaking (and burning more batches than I care to admit), I finally figured out what makes this the most requested dessert at every family gathering.
Why You'll Love This Caramel Cake Recipe
Baked for Emma’s birthdays and countless celebrations, this caramel cake stays tender for days unlike most homemade cakes that dry out quickly. The homemade caramel frosting delivers a rich, buttery depth that far surpasses any jarred alternative.
It's actually pretty forgiving. I've messed up the frosting temperature twice and it still turned out great. Emma always begs to help because he knows he gets to lick the spoon - kid's got his priorities straight. This cake feeds our whole extended family when they come over, and I always end up sending people home with leftovers because there's never a shortage of requests for the recipe.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Caramel Cake Recipe
- Ingredients for Caramel Cake
- How To Make Caramel Cake Step By Step
- Storing Your Caramel Cake
- Caramel Cake Recipe Variations
- Equipment For Caramel Cake Recipe
- Substitutions for Your Caramel Cake
- Auntie's Little-Known Secret That Transformed My Kitchen
- Top Tip
- Why This Caramel Cake Works
- FAQ
- Time to Make Some Magic!
- Related
- Pairing
- Caramel Cake
Ingredients for Caramel Cake
The Cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- Pure vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Fine sea salt
The Caramel Frosting:
- Granulated sugar
- Heavy cream
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
My Little Extras:
- Sour cream
- Brown sugar
- Real vanilla bean paste
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Caramel Cake Step By Step
Making the Cake:
- Beat butter and both sugars until fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each
- Add flour mixture and milk back and forth - start and end with flour
- Fold in sour cream and vanilla last
- Divide between three greased pans and bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes
The Caramel Frosting:
- Heat sugar in your heavy pan over medium heat, stirring constantly
- Cook until deep amber - don't walk away because it burns fast
- Slowly add warm cream while whisking
- Take off heat, add butter and salt
- Cool slightly, then beat in powdered sugar until spreadable
Assembly:
- Let sit 30 minutes before cutting
- Cool cakes completely
- Level tops with a serrated knife
- Spread frosting between layers while still slightly warm
- Cover outside with remaining frosting
Storing Your Caramel Cake
Counter Storage (2-3 days):
- Cover loosely with foil
- Keep somewhere cool
- Don't put in fridge unless it's super hot
- Cut pieces as you need them
Fridge Storage (5-6 days):
- Wrap in plastic wrap
- Let it sit out before serving
- Frosting gets hard but softens fast
- Tastes fine cold too
Freezing (2-3 months):
- Or freeze whole thing and thaw overnight
- Freeze cake layers without frosting
- Wrap each layer separately
- Make fresh frosting when ready
Caramel Cake Recipe Variations
Chocolate Stuff:
- Chocolate caramel with cocoa powder
- S'mores with graham cracker pieces
- Mocha with coffee in frosting
- White chocolate with vanilla bean
Fruit Versions:
- Apple caramel with diced apples
- Banana with mashed bananas mixed in
- Orange with fresh zest
- Strawberry with freeze-dried berries
Holiday Flavors:
- Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg
- Bourbon caramel for adults
- Maple with real maple syrup
- Salted caramel with sea salt
Kid Favorites:
- Birthday cake with sprinkles
- Peanut butter with chopped peanuts
- Extra vanilla with vanilla bean
- Coconut with toasted flakes
Equipment For Caramel Cake Recipe
- Heavy-bottomed saucepan (won't burn the caramel)
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Three 9-inch round cake pans
- Offset spatula for frosting
- Rubber spatula for mixing
Substitutions for Your Caramel Cake
For the Cake:
- All-purpose flour → Gluten-free flour blend (add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum)
- Whole milk → Almond milk, oat milk, or buttermilk
- Butter → Coconut oil or vegan butter
- Eggs → Flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoon water per egg)
- Sour cream → Greek yogurt or coconut cream
For the Frosting:
- Heavy cream → Coconut cream (the thick part from a chilled can)
- Butter → Vegan butter or coconut oil
- Powdered sugar → Powdered coconut sugar (though it won't be as smooth)
Sweetener Swaps:
- Brown sugar → Coconut sugar
- Granulated sugar → Coconut sugar or maple sugar
Auntie's Little-Known Secret That Transformed My Kitchen
I learned the most important thing about caramel frosting from a complete stranger. During a farmers market bake sale in 2020, an elderly woman stopped by my booth and took one bite of my caramel cake. She smiled, then leaned in close. "You're missing the burn," she said quietly. Turns out, she'd been making caramel for sixty years, and her secret was taking the sugar just a shade darker than most people dare. "Everyone stops when it looks pretty," she explained, "but the good stuff happens right before you think you've messed it up."
She was absolutely right. That extra thirty seconds of cooking creates a depth that turns regular caramel into something people remember for months. Now I always push my caramel just to that edge where my heart starts racing. It's the difference between a nice cake and one people bug you for the recipe.
Top Tip
- I learned this from a stranger at a farmers market who had been making caramel for sixty years. She took one bite of my cake and told me I was "missing the burn." Now I always push it to that scary edge where my heart starts racing and Emma knows not to talk to me. It's the difference between a nice cake and one people remember for months.
- Take your caramel sugar darker than you think you should. Most people stop when the sugar turns a light amber color because it looks pretty, but the real magic happens in those last 30 seconds when you think you're about to ruin everything. That deeper, almost burnt color creates a complex flavor that turns this from just another caramel cake into something people will bug you for the recipe about.
Why This Caramel Cake Works
This caramel cake has saved me from so many dessert disasters over the years. The cake stays moist for days because of that sour cream trick I found in my mother-in-law's old recipe box. The homemade caramel frosting tastes nothing like store-bought stuff - it's got this deep, buttery flavor that's completely different.
What really got me hooked was how it doesn't fall apart if you mess up a little. I've screwed up the frosting temperature twice and it still came out fine. The cake layers bake evenly every time, and the frosting spreads easily when you time it right. Emma loves helping because he gets to lick the spoon - kid knows what's important. This cake feeds our whole family when everyone comes over, and I always end up writing down the recipe because people won't stop bugging me for it.
FAQ
How to make simple caramel cake?
Start with a basic vanilla cake and focus on getting the caramel frosting right first. Cook sugar until amber, add warm cream slowly, then butter. I'd suggest practicing just the frosting a couple times before making the whole cake.
What is the trick to making caramel?
Keep stirring and take the sugar darker than you think you should. Use a heavy pan, medium heat, and look for deep amber color. Have your cream warmed up and ready to dump in fast when it's the right color.
What is a southern caramel cake?
It's a tender vanilla cake with real cooked caramel frosting made from sugar, cream, and butter. You pour the frosting on while it's warm and it sets up thick but stays creamy enough to spread and slice nicely.
How to make caramel for top of cake?
Cook sugar in a heavy pan until deep amber, slowly add warm cream while whisking, then add butter and salt. Let it cool a bit then beat in powdered sugar until it's thick enough to spread. Put it on while still slightly warm.
Time to Make Some Magic!
Now you have all the secrets to making the most amazing caramel cake - from picking the right sugar to that game-changing tip about taking the caramel darker than you think you should. This cake creates those sweet memories that stick around long after the last crumb disappears.
Want more homemade treats? Try our The Best Edible Cookie Dough Recipe that's safe to eat straight from the bowl -Emmas current obsession. For chocolate lovers, our The Best Sweet Potato Brownies Recipe will blow your mind with how fudgy they get. Or go classic with our Classic Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe that makes the whole house smell amazing!
Show off your caramel cake triumphs! Tag we can’t wait to admire your golden masterpieces and the memories they inspire.
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Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Caramel Cake
Caramel Cake
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-bottomed saucepan (For cooking caramel)
- 1 Stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 9 inch round cake pans (Greased and lined)
- 1 Offset spatula (For spreading frosting)
- 1 Rubber spatula (For folding and scraping)
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1½ cups Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Unsalted butter - Room temperature
- 4 large Eggs
- ½ cup Whole milk - Room temperature
- 2 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract - Or vanilla bean paste
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Fine sea salt
- ½ cup Sour cream - Optional—for extra moisture
- 1½ cups Granulated sugar - for frosting
- ½ cup Heavy cream - Warmed
- ¼ cup Unsalted butter - for frosting Room temperature
- 1½ cups Powdered sugar - for frosting
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract - for frosting
- pinch Fine sea salt - for frosting
Instructions
- Cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy
- Add eggs, then alternate flour and milk
- Bake the three cake layers until golden and springy
- Caramelize sugar, whisk in cream and butter, cool
- Frost layers, stack, and garnish before serving
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