Tender buttery caramel cake layers, brown butter salted caramel buttercream, salted caramel ganache filling and drip, topped with all your favorite caramel treats; this cake is perfect for any caramel-lover, and especially for all things fall as we head into cooler crisp weather!

I originally had this recipe saved away for a second cookbook someday, but after taste-testing it with my cake class ladies last fall, there have been quite a few begging for the recipe. With the cooler temperatures and fall baking on the horizon, I thought now would be a perfect time to share with you the BEST CARAMEL CAKE in the land. If it’s been over a year since they taste-tested it, and they’re still begging for the recipe, you know you have a good one on your hands.

This cake was born when I was trying to create a caramel popcorn-inspired cake, and ended up grabbing some Stroopwaffles in the meantime for a future cake idea. I married the two ideas together in an ultimate caramel cake, and it was MAGIC! Caramel corn, caramels, and those heavenly little stroopwaffles all around really made this cake come to life. I mean, the flavors on their own speak for themselves, but adding the toppings really made it something special on the outside to match the inside.

As for the caramel flavor, you’ll notice I leaned heavily into the caramel extract for the main flavor. Yes, you can use caramel, but with baking, caramel tends to bubble and spread and really mess with the consistency of the cake. Extracts, butter golden cake, and a touch of brown sugar in the cake itself helped create a soft and tender cake with a heavenly caramel flavor that complimented the other elements of the cake beautifully. Yes, there’s a cake mix involved – but if you know me, we’ve already proved time and a time again that this cake will win a taste-test against any scratch cake you come across. And another win? It’s fool proof and much easier to make; leaving you feeling like a cake genius (well, I mean, you ARE one, so it’s just further confirming that, right?).

Let’s chat about this buttercream. I could have added the extract and left it at that. I could have added caramel straight to the buttercream and risked a severe consistency issue. But I decided early on that I wanted this recipe to be super accessible for the first time baker, as well as taste delicious enough to wow even your more-seasoned cake critic! So I started with my browned butter buttercream and added in a touch of caramel extract. You get all the warmth of the browned butter, the caramel taste from the extract with ZERO hassle, and you can add in an extra pinch of salt if you’d like for more of a “salted” flavor. It’s SO, SO, SO good, you guys. I want to spread this buttercream on everything.

As for the ganache and filling, you can get the most flavor for your buck by going with the Wilton salted caramel candy melts. If you can’t find them, or prefer to use homemade caramel drip, that’s totally fine! Caramel tends to not have the neatest drips (there’s a way to make them work, but for new bakers there’s a huge margin for error with the consistency). I love using either one, but the main thing to remember is that caramel naturally is either a bit more hard (especially if you use it AS IS and it hardens to a solid inside your cake in the fridge… trust me, you don’t want that!). So make sure to pay attention to the consistency. If you’ve chosen to use homemade caramel, make sure it’s not too thin, or too thick, and that it doesn’t change it’s thickness in the fridge or freezer when you’ve made your cake. I stick with the caramel melts to avoid any caramel drama altogether.

And that’s it! There you have it! I cannot wait for more of you to try this one. I love that I get to use my cake classes to have 16 amazing humans let me know how they like/dislike the cakes I’ve created. That way when it gets to you on my website here, or in my cookbooks, you will have the best tried and true recipes!

Enjoy! And don’t forget to tag me @bakingwithblondie so I can see your creation!

Happy baking,

Mandy

Get the Recipe: Ultimate Caramel Cake

Soft Caramel Cake with Caramel Buttercream, Caramel Filling, and Caramel Drip and Toppings!
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Ingredients
 

Caramel Cake

  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 egg white , room temperature
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk , room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sour cream , room temperature
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons caramel extract
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour , sifted
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 "Butter Golden" cake mix , Sifted. Any brand will do, but I prefer Duncan Hines.

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Buttercream

  • 4 sticks (or 2 cups) unsalted butter
  • 2 pinches salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons caramel extract
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 7 cups powdered sugar

Salted Caramel Ganache Drip and Filling

  • 1 cup Wilton Salted Caramel Candy Melts , *can be subbed with homemade or store-bought caramel, too. I just prefer the look and ease of the melts for this recipe.
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Toppings

  • 1-2 cups stroopwafles, caramel corn, caramels, etc.

Instructions
 

Caramel Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325 convection bake, or 350 traditional bake. Prep three 6" or two 8" cake pans with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, hand whisk together all wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, sour cream, vegetable oil, extracts) until thoroughly combined. Add in the sifted dry ingredients (flour, cake mix) and brown sugar, and whisk until just combined. Don't over-mix!
  • Split batter evenly between prepared cake pans, and bake for 25-27 minutes until center is baked. Remove from the oven, let cool in the pans for 2 minutes, then flip cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap carefully, then store in the freezer for 2 hours to overnight before decorating.

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Buttercream

  • *In an hour or two in advance, make the brown butter: With TWO of the four butter sticks (so 1 cup of butter), melt them in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Keep the heat on medium, or else it will cook to quickly and burn. Whisk until butter starts to foam, then watch carefully as it changes to a dark amber color. It should smell nutty and begin to change pretty quickly. Immediately remove from the heat when this happens (it can go from brown to burned very fast), and pour into a glass bowl. Make sure to scrape up any little brown bits – that's where most of the flavor comes from! Set aside in the fridge for an hour or two until the browned butter turns back into a solid.
  • In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the browned butter, remaining 1 cup of butter, on high speed until the butter is light and fluffy in texture and color.
  • Add in salt, extracts, and heavy cream. Scrape down the sides, and then add in the powdered sugar slowly. It will get thick – add in a touch more of heavy cream (1 tablespoon at a time) if needed. Whip buttercream on high speed for 2 minutes to thicken and lighten. Adjust consistency if needed.

Caramel Ganache Drip and Filling

  • In a microwave-safe bowl, stir together the caramel candy melts and heavy cream. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir.

Assembly

  • On a cake turntable and cardboard cake round, add on a touch of buttercream on the bottom, then stack on the first cake round. Spread on some buttercream, then pipe a dam around the outside rim of the cake round. Add on 1/4 cup of the caramel filling, then stack on the next cake round. Repeat. Crumb coat, then freeze 5 minutes, then add on the final layer of buttercream. I used the end of my straight icing spatula and my cake turntable to make the textured line around the cake. Freeze 2 minutes to firm. Add on caramel ganache drip, freeze for 2 minutes to set, then hand place on the caramel treat garnishes.
Course: Dessert