Caramel Cake
Cuisine: American
Author: Cookie Madness
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Total time: 55 mins
A scratch yellow cake made with sour cream and topped with a caramel frosting
Ingredients
  • 2 3/4 cups( 12.4 ounces) aerated and stirred all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup room temperature sour cream
Frosting
  • 3 cups sugar, divided
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup whole milk, room temp
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9x2 -inch metal cake pans with flour-added baking spray or grease with butter/shortening and flour.
  2. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
  3. In a stand mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium high speed until light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually add the sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice and beating for about 5 minutes or until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and continue beating for another minute or two, scraping sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low and add the milk, then add flour and sour cream alternately. When flour is fully incorporated, divide evenly among the pans.
  4. Bake on center rack for about 35 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched and a pick inserted comes out clean.
  5. To make the frosting, put 2 1/2 cups of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mash it around until mixture is grainy and moist, then add the egg, milk and salt and stir until relatively smooth. Set aside.
  6. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar in 3-4 quart heavy duty saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and syrup is a light golden brown.
  7. Remove from heat and stir the butter mixture into hot caramelized sugar, then return to heat and cook over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 235 on a candy thermometer. Note: When you first put the butter mixture into the caramelized sugar, it will start to harden and clump. Just keep cooking and stirring and it will all melt together, but do keep the heat even. This process should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
  8. When mixture reaches 235, remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.
  9. Add the vanilla and beat frosting with a wooden spoon to almost spreading consistency or you can cheat a bit. Pour it into a mixing bowl and beat it with a handheld mixer until it starts to thicken. As soon as it's thick enough to pour, but not too runny, spoon some over the first layer of cake. It should fan out a bit, but eventually set. Stack on the second layer of cake and pour some more caramel carefully over the top. Spread it around the sides the best you can.
Notes
If your cake pans are 9x1 1/2 rather than 9x2, you can use them anyway, but leave behind about 1/3 cup of the batter so that the cake won't rise over the top. The frosting came together nicely. I used a thick, nonstick, black saucepan rather than a metal pan, so the sugar took a little longer to melt, but the candy came to 235 at a nice, even pace. The most difficult part of the recipe was knowing just when to pour the caramel onto the cake. I needed to be soft enough to spread out, but cool enough to set.
Recipe by Cookie Madness at http://www.cookiemadness.net/2012/12/yellow-cake-with-caramel-frosting-southern-caramel-cake/