Caramel Cake recipe

4.33 from 996 votes

This is the Best Southern Caramel Cake. It's got a moist buttery yellow cake base topped with scratch caramel icing.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Caramel Icing2

Total Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: servings

Calories: 862kcal

Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with non-stick baking spray or grease and flour.
In your mixer bowl, add oil and butter and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Slowly add in sugar and beat on high speed for an additional 4-5 minutes until very pale yellow and fluffy.
Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
Add in vanilla extract and mix.
Sift cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a medium sized bowl. Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increment. Be careful not to over beat.
Lastly, add sour cream and heavy cream and scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off mixer.
Evenly pour cake batter into prepared baking pans and place in oven to bake for 17-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes just barely clean but don't over bake!! I personally start checking the cakes around 16 minutes just to be sure since everyone's oven is different.
Remove cakes from oven and rest in pans for 10-15 minutes. Invert cakes from pans onto cooling racks until cooled.

Add butter, evaporated milk, and sugar to saucepan over medium low heat until everything has melted together.
Leave over medium low heat stirring consistently 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. Note: if it is taking a while, you can turn up the heat a little more to speed up the thickening process but you MUST WATCH CAREFULLY AND STIR FREQUENTLY.
Make sure that the caramel turns the color of the photo below before stopping the heat. It should thicken to the texture in the video as well.
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 stir 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.

To assemble, make sure those cake layers have cooled down completely.
Add a small dollop of icing to the center of your cake plate or stand then place the first layer on top. This will help it stay in place.
Using an offset spatula, spread a 1/4 of the caramel icing over the first layer spreading to the ends. Let it set for about 5 minutes so it can firm up just a bit.
Then carefully add the next layer and center it directly over the first layer. Repeat adding another 1/4 of the icing and spreading over it. Set another 5 minutes.
Finally repeat with the final layer of the cake adding right on top. Spread the remaining caramel cake icing over the top and around the sides of the cake.Let it set for about 30 minutes to set then get ready to serve it up!

How To Store Classic Caramel Cake

Room Temperature: This cake can stay at room temp for up to 3 days due to the high sugar content in the cooked icing. Just add to a cake carrier to keep it protected.
Fridge: Wrap your cake loosely with plastic wrap or add to a cake carrier to keep it from drying out. It will last about 4 days.
Freezer: Double wrap your iced cake loosely in plastic wrap so it creates a good sealing. Then wrap the plastic wrap with foil for an extra layer of freezer burn protection. It should last about 2 months boos.
How to Re-Serve: Bring your slices back to room temperature before serving it up! It will soften the texture and return the caramel icing back to silky glory.

Butter: It needs to be room temperature. If you only have unsalted, add in a pinch of salt to the icing. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt in the cake batter.

Oil: With over a decade of recipe development and testing experience, I have learned that butter cakes can sometimes dry out if you let them overbake slightly so I give y'all some insurance by adding just a little vegetable oil in to keep it moist.

Granulated sugar: For sweetness. Make sure you don't cut the creaming time so it blends in well with the butter.

Cake Flour: This keeps the cake from developing too much gluten and getting tough. Make sure you sift too! If you don't have any, grab all-purpose flour and cornstarch and follow these steps on how to make cake flour.

Eggs: They bind the cake together and give structure! Egg yolks have more moisture than egg whites so we add a couple in.

Baking powder, baking soda and salt: No baking powder? Combine 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to create a great substitute.