Southern caramel cake recipes have always been a classic that I could have any day of the week. My family has made it for decades, and it is definitely an old time Southern favorite. The funny thing about this cake is a lot of people did not become familiar with it until the movie “The Help” mentioned it. After the movie was released in theaters, I saw tons of replicas of this classic cake online (definitely real deal caramel cake imitators). These recipes weren’t as authentic as I thought they should be.
WHAT MAKES THE BEST CARAMEL CAKE RECIPE?
The real deal caramel cake imitators all seemed okay but nothing like the one I am used to eating. The classic caramel cake recipe has a moist yet slightly dense (but still light) yellow butter cake that isn’t too sweet because the caramel icing is the true star of the party. The classic southern caramel cake doesn’t shortcut the caramel icing recipe with a quick brown sugar butterscotch method, which is a caramel frosting substitution (my recipe doesn’t shortcut anything). This caramel uses granulated sugar and evaporated milk to create the luscious flavor.
CARAMEL ICING VS. CARAMEL FROSTING
This southern caramel cake recipe is the real deal caramel cake. It puts other caramel cake recipes to shame. The caramel icing (definitely an icing and not a caramel frosting which is a bit different in texture and consistency) comes from my Aunt Bev, and she definitely gets down in the kitchen. Try this for yourself and finally enjoy the true classic! And P.S., this is not a cake you can throw together quickly. It definitely takes about 3 hours from start to finish but it is well worth the wait!
HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL ICING
Here is a look at how the caramel icing begins to come together. Some people struggle with knowing exactly how the icing should look after about two hours of cooking on a very low heat. Low and slow is the best way to achieve this perfect icing. The color will deepen and it will naturally thicken.
Remember to make sure that the caramel turns the color of the photo below before stopping the heat. It should also COMPLETELY coat the back of a spoon to ensure thickness. Be careful to watch, adjusting heat temperature to not let it burn.
Once you remove the caramel icing from the heat, it will continue to thicken on its own. Make sure to allow this process to happen. I like to let it cool at least 30 minutes. It will help with frosting the cake without the icing dripping everywhere and the layers sliding too much.
Just a note here: If you are having problems with your cake sliding, it is because the caramel icing recipe is too thin. If you let it GET TOO THICK, just add a little bit of milk. Really follow your instincts here.
WHEN SHOULD YOU SERVE THIS CARAMEL CAKE RECIPE?
This caramel cake recipe is perfect for the holidays. It is not an easy cake to pull off because as I mentioned before it can take up to 3 hours to complete the recipe. Make this caramel cake for special occasions and holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a family reunion. This cake is made with love and should be shared with those very special people in your life. If you love this cake, you might also become infatuated with some my other holiday desserts like my Ultimate Lemon Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Brown Sugar Pound Cake and Southern Peach Cobbler!
Storage
This cake can stay at room temperature for 3-4 days due to the high sugar content cooked icing. However if you want to refrigerate it, make sure you bring slices to room temperature before serving and eating.
CARAMEL CAKE RECIPE CREATIONS
I love seeing your Real Deal Caramel Cake Recipe Creations!! Check out some of the amazing photos I have received! After more than five years, I must say this Real Deal Caramel Cake Recipe is still my most popular cake recipe.
Want To Grab The Products To Make This Recipe? Grab Them BELOW!
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Real Deal Southern Caramel Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 2 sticks
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups Cake flour, sifted
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
For Aunt Bev's Caramel Icing:
- 1 1/2 sticks butter
- 2 cans evaporated milk 12 ounces each
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, oil and sugar on high until fully incorporated and light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes.
- Turn mixer to medium speed and mix in eggs and egg yolks one at a time until well incorporated.
- Add in vanilla extract and mix.
- Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl.
- With mixer on slow speed, alternate adding in flour mixture and sour cream ending with flour mixture until mixed through.
- Do not over mix.
- Spray three 9 inch round cake pans with baking spray or grease and flour them.
- Pour batter into individual cake pans evenly.
- Bake in preheated oven for 23-30 minutes or until fully baked (but DON'T OVERBAKE THESE CAKES- CHECK THEM EARILER SO THEY DON'T DRY OUT).
- Remove cake pans from oven and cool on cooling racks for 10 minutes.
- Remove cakes from pans and wait until completely cooled to ice.
For the Caramel Icing:
- Add butter, evaporated milk, and sugar to saucepan over medium heat until everything has melted together.
- Leave over medium to low heat stirring periodically for about 1 1/2- 2 hours (watch the entire time to make sure it does not burn until thickened and caramel has darkened to a beautiful golden brown.
- Make sure that the caramel turns the color of the photo below before stopping the heat.
- It should also thickly coat the back of a spoon to ensure thickness. See notes below for additional tips for the caramel.
- Be careful to watch, adjusting heat temperature to not let it burn.
- Remove from heat and add in vanilla extract.
- Cool for about 15-20 minutes to allow it to thicken before icing the cake. If you see that it is too warm and still not completely thick enough, cool it in the refrigerator and get it thick!
- P.S. Some people like to take the caramel and whip it in a stand mixer to create more of a frosting texture. That is totally up to you.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Want more great desserts?
Check out my Banana Pudding Cheesecake Blondies!
Or my Red Velvet Blackberry Cake!
Or my Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
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Although I was not a fan of caramel cake, I could not resist baking this cake because my mouth began to water after looking at your pictures. The caramel cakes that I have eaten in the past were dry, and the icing was hard and lacked flavor. Your recipe produces a delicious moist cake and a marvelous creamy icing. I will definitely bake this cake again!
Thank you so much Jennifer! Your comment really warmed my heart this morning. I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I moved to the South 25 years ago…and discovered caramel cake! I don’t eat it very often – because if I started I would have to eat the entire cake. But I am the family cook and baker and my sister has requested caramel cake for her birthday…woo hoo! I have never made one, but am looking forward to trying out this recipe. Love your site.
Hooray! Arlene thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you continue to follow along and let me know how your caramel cake turns out for your sister’s birthday.
Hello,
This is my first time on your site and I love your recipes. I’m looking forward to making this cake. I’ve never had carmel cake and I love cakes from scratch. Can I make this cake in a 13×9 inch pan?
Thank you,
Thank you so much Hope! I am so glad you found the site. Yes, you can totally adapt this recipe to bake the cake in that pan but adjust your baking time and watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn. I hope to see you around more!
Hi. This looks delicious. Do you have this recipe in a printer friendly format like some of the others I’ve seen?
Thank you!
Hi Lisa, I just set it up in printer friendly mode as well. Thanks so much for requesting it!
LOVED THIS RECIPE….EVERYTHING CAME OUT EXACTLY THE EAY YOU SAID IT WOULD.
Hooray!!!!!! So happy to hear that!!!
I have not a real caramel cake since I was a teenager. A close friend’s aunt baked them from scratch and they were addictting. I will be trying this one. Please tell me if you know a receipe for milk chocolate frosting. Thanks.
This is (IMO) the best Caramel Cake recipe that I have came across! My husband made this one for Thanksgiving last year…let me tell you, the frosting took a while, (which it is supposed to..LOL) but it was well worth it! Aunt Bev knows how to make a REAL Caramel frosting! The texture of the cake was on point! Everyone enjoyed it, and it is now our go to cake for the holidays! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much! I am so happy to hear this!
I was so excited to make this cake, but I turned it into a failed science experiment. After 2.5 hours trying to get the icing to thicken my husband came in and insisted on taking over. He doesn’t know how to cook AT ALL! He insisted on getting it to a boil which wasn’t happening because I cooked it in a homemade double boiler. Then, to get it to cool down he filled a larger bowl with ice and proceeded to spin the metal bowl with icing in it to cool it. It finally seemed to have stiffened up enough to pour over the cake, so I did. It was a bit runny, but it was fine. Well, I woke up this morning with a bare double layer cake and all the icing haven melted off around it. Luckily my husband had lined the counter with foil in anticipation of a lava type flow! Although it looks frightening it tastes good. For me personally, I will cut back on the sour cream in the cake next time. I’m determined to get the icing perfect!
Hi Lee, gosh it sounds like you had a difficult time with the cake. The frosting isn’t difficult but it is something that kinda needs to be mastered. Next time, give it a little more time to stiffen and cool and then add to your cake and you shouldn’t have that much of a slide off factor. Also, if you want another cake to try, check out my peach cobbler cake. The yellow cake part also goes great with this cake.
Hello,
On tastykitcken.com the frosting calls for 2 sticks of butter. Your site listed 1 1/2 sticks. Which one is correct?
Hi Tawanda, the correct listing is 1 1/2 sticks. Happy New Year!
Hi Wendy, how are you? Sorry for the delay as it has been super busy with the holidays. Please make sure to use evaporated milk, any brand you would like. Just make sure it is evaporated and you will be absolutely fine. Feel free to send more questions if you have any along the process.