When it comes to a traditional caramel cake, the real star of the show is the decadent caramel icing that is cooked on the stovetop to slowly caramelize the sugars and evaporated milk. Shortcut versions use brown sugar and powdered sugar to mimic the result, but they just aren’t the same as the real thing. This is the best caramel cake because it’s made the old-fashioned way from scratch! The homemade caramel icing is used to fill layers of tender yellow cake before pouring the rest over the top of the cake and frosting the sides with rustic, smooth swirls. No need to worry about fancy decorating or piping with this southern cake! This cake is definitely a labor of love, but the end result is worth it, especially for caramel lovers, and the frosting is easier than it sounds.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions. The movie is set in Jackson, Mississippi and one of the main characters, a maid named Minny, famously makes her award-winning caramel cake more than once throughout the book. It’s true that homemade caramel cake is very popular in the South and it’s easy to see why!
Flour – Regular all-purpose flour works just great for this cake, although you could substitute cake flour instead if you prefer. Sugar – Granulated sugar is used in both the cake and the caramel icing. Salted butter Eggs Salt Vanilla extract Baking powder Milk Evaporated milk – You can use heavy cream, half-and-half or even whole milk to make the caramel icing, but evaporated milk gives the richest, best flavor in our experience. Sour cream – This is the secret to super moist cake layers.
How to Make Caramel Cake
Tips for Success
Use room temperature ingredients. It makes a difference using room temperature butter, eggs, sour cream, and milk when baking cake layers. They will mix and bake more evenly and you will have flatter layers than if your ingredients are cold straight out of the fridge. Beating the icing. Don’t go too far when beating the icing or it will cease to be pourable and can thicken into more of a frosting. It will still be delicious and you can thin the icing back out with a little milk if you go too far, but it’s easy to get carried away, especially if you decided to transfer the hot caramel icing to a stand mixer. Prepared cake pans. I like to line my round cake pans with parchment paper circles on the bottom to make sure the cake doesn’t stick. When the cake layers are done baking, You can just turn them out onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper.
Storage Instructions
Keep any uneaten cake covered in an airtight container or with a glass cake dome on a cake plate to prevent the sliced cake from drying out. You can wrap individual slices of cake with plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months. Just thaw on the counter for a couple of hours before enjoying.
More Cake Recipes
Coca Cola Cake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake Oreo Cookies & Cream Cake San Jose Burnt Almond Cake
Recipe adapted from Saveur.
Vintage Cherry Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Best Homemade Red Velvet Cake
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
