This is a new photo and updated recipe for a caramel cake I made back in 2012 when I was just learning how to make caramel frosting. I was very intimidated by it back then, but not anymore!
New Southern Living Spreadable Version
In the September 2025 issue, Southern Living shared a recipe and tutorial for how to make authentic, scratch, spreadable caramel frosting. Their version has more butter, cream, and flavor. It doesn't get gritty when set and unlike the old version that was here, it doesn't require an egg.
The Catch -- A Lot of Gear
The catch to this recipe is you'll need some gear. A stand mixer is handy for the cake itself, but it's imperative from this frosting because you have to paddle it for about 10 minutes. You'll also need a stainless steel pan to caramelize the sugar in, a large 4 quart pot or Dutch oven, a mixing bowl to pour the finished frosting in and a reliable thermometer.
Basic Steps for Making Caramel Frosting
So this frosting has three different phases.
- Step 1 -- Dissolve most of the sugar in a mixture of cream and corn syrup. To do that, you just heat it over the stove in a large lidded pot or Dutch oven.
- Step 2 -- Caramelize a portion (⅔ cup) of the sugar in a different pot, preferably stainless steel. You heat it, tilting and swirling, until it is a dark amber or a little darker than in the photo below.
- Step 3 -- Pour the caramelized sugar into the warm cream mixture and cook it until it hits 238 F. This only takes 4 to 6 minutes.
- Step 4 -- Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add a lot of butter and vanilla and stir just until blended. You let that stand without stirring at all for about an hour, keeping tabs on temperature, which needs to drop to 110F.
- Step 5 -- At 110 F use the paddle attachment to beat the caramel icing for about 10 minutes or until temperature drops to 90 F.
- Step 6 -- Pour into the final bowl to rest and relax. It cools down to 75 degrees F and is now smooth and spreadable! You can even pipe it.
Sour Cream Yellow Cake
The cake in the recipe card here is the same as before. It's a solid but moist yellow sour cream cake that holds up well to the sweet caramel frosting. It's designed to fit two 9-inch layers, but you could halve it and make two 6-inch layers or keep the same size and bake the cake in a 9x13 inch pan.
I'll post a few more pictures because I plan on making this one again soon. It's the caramel frosting I was hoping for.
Recipe
Caramel Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups well-stirred and aerated all-purpose flour (350 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (228 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups granulated sugar (390 grams)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup milk (56 grams)
- 1 cup room temperature sour cream
Frosting
- 3 cups sugar, divided use (2 ⅓ cup and ⅔ cup) (460 grams and 130 grams)
- 1 cup heavy cream (230 grams)
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup (40 grams)
- ¾ cup salted butter, cut into 6 cubes (170 grams)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9x2 -inch metal cake pans with flour-added baking spray or grease with shortening and dust with flour. Line pans with parchment circles if desired. Alternatively, use a 9x13 inch pan.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
- In a stand mixer 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.
- Bake on center rack for about 35 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched and a pick inserted comes out clean.
Caramel Frosting
- Start by gathering your pans. You're going to need a small stainless steel skillet or saute pan to caramelize the sugar, a Dutch oven or 4 to 5 quart heavy saucepan, and a stand mixer with the paddle attached. You'll also need one large clean mixing size bowl.
- To get started, put ⅔ cup (130 grams) of the sugar in your stainless steel pan and set it aside.
- The next step, put 1 cup of cream, 2 tablespoons of corn syrup and 2 ⅓ cups sugar in the large pot or Dutch oven. Set it over medium heat and cook, stirring with a heavy duty heat proof scraper, for about 7 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove it from the heat, cover and keep warm while you make the caramelized sugar.
- Set the pan with the sugar over medium heat and cook without stirring until it starts to glisten. Begin looking for signs of melting sugar. At this point, agitate the sugar with a wooden spoon or heat-proof scraper, stirring and tilting and watching it go from clear to a deep amber. Once deep amber, scrape it into the warm cream mixture. Be careful because it will bubble up a little.
- Set the mixture over medium heat. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture hits 238F on an instant read or deep fry thermometer. I like to use a deep fry thermometer for this. Immediately pour it into the stand mixer bowl.
- Add butter and vanilla and stir just until butter is melted and blended in. Let mixture cool down to 110 F. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour.You can use an instant read thermometer or just leave your deep fry thermometer in the bowl.
- When mixture reaches 110 F, set the stand mixer bowl on the mixing station and beat with the paddle for 10 minutes until mixture cools to 90 degrees F. Add about a tablespoon of cream to help cool it down and thin it out if needed. At 90 degrees. scrape into another clean bowl and let cool to 75 degrees F. at which point it should be smooth and spreadable.
stephanie says
Have you ever substituted soy milk in a caramel frosting recipe? I have to make a dairy free version and this looks delicious!
Betsy says
WOW! I can't believe how easy this recipe was. It is my first successful caramel icing ever! Icing taste marvelous! Next time I will try a lighter batter and thinner layers to get more caramel.
Berdell says
The cake looks wonderfull.As a girl growing up in central Virginia I remember so well vesting my aunts for Homecoming at our family church or a big Sunday Dinner and a carmel on the back porch on a special shelf made for keeping cakes and pies cool or having a beautiful Carmel cake on the buffet in the Dinning Room.
I have made at least two in the last 4 years for special events and they have been a hit with all who had them.
There is nothing like a caramel cake and I prefer the icing that you cook with sugar and evaporated milk it is divine.
I save the leftover in ajar warm it and serve as a dipping sauce for crisp thin apple slices, my grand children love it. you choose the right B'day cake.
Michelle P. says
This cake looks so good! I've been wanting to try making a caramel cake. Have you looked at the cookbook "Cake Ladies". If you haven't yet, I recommend it. I think you'd love it. It is full of really neat stories about different ladies and then they share a favorite/signature cake. They have a caramel cake in there that I've been wanting to try as well.
Jennifer says
Happy belated birthday! I am behind on my blog reading so missed that.
I've never made nor had a caramel cake. It looks delicious but I am a failure at making homemade yellow cake, so that part scares me a little.
Dee says
Looks delicious. Happy Birthday, Anna!
Janice says
I say to you...Happy, happy birthday!
...but wait...Anna, is your birthday the 29th? The same day as my baby girl Katie?
Wow, small world then as I was going to ask you for some help as my baby just moved to Austin...downtown Austin!
Rebecca says
Wow, that looks fantastic! I wish my house wasn't already filled with treats so I could make one. Happy Birthday!
gloria says
Happy birthday and thanks for your present to us!!! This looks devine!!!
Carol says
Happy Birthday! I have been wanting to make this for years and this looks like the perfect recipe to try!
Martha in KS says
Happy Birthday! My mom made caramel icing - guess it's time I try it.
Darlene says
Happy Birthday. Anna! Hope your day was as special as you are!
Prior to reading 'The Help', I had never heard of a Caramel Cake but the frequent reference to Minny's Caramel Cake made me excited to try it. So happy you found a delicious recipe for us, and that it doesn't use self-rising flour (which I never have).
Anna says
My mom saw the cake and said that one of my great grandmothers (the one I never met) used to make it all the time, but that hers was taller and had a darker caramel.
Allison W says
Happy Birthday!!! That looks divine! Today is my birthday and I'm now contemplating making a cake for myself even though my SO has made me one already!
Im At Home Baking says
Yum!!! Looks very delicious!
Amy @ What Jew Wanna Eat says
Happy birthday, Anna!
Kathy says
Happy Birthday! 🙂
beth says
Happy Birthday and thanks for introducing me to Southern Carmel Cake! Sounds devine.
beth
Sue says
Oh my! That looks wonderful.
Linda says
Happy Birthday, Anna!
Katrina says
Looks great! I have that same red-bottom (white top, Walmart special?) cake keeper. 😉 A couple years ago Parker had a caramel cake for his birthday, but it was a caramel buttercream. He'd probably like this though. He doesn't like chocolate.
Sue/the view from great island says
This looks so good, I've been dying to try a recipe for caramel cake since I had some in North Carolina last year, thanks for the inspiration!
Ela says
Happy Birthday, Anna!!! You baked my very favorite cake. Cheers!!!
Martha says
Happy Birthday, Anna! Your southern caramel cake looks delicious. As a cook with a large lazy streak, I love how the cake mix doctor make baking easy and accessible, but usually prefer the taste/texture of from-scratch cakes.
karen says
Wow - that looks like the real deal - your courage paid off! Happy Birthday!
Amy says
whoa! Yum! I grew up on this, but several skinny layers. Will anxiously await your frosting experiments.