Rich caramel cake covered in a thick layer of silky smooth, not-too-sweet salted caramel Italian meringue buttercream.
{Note} For a gluten free version of this cake, please check out this Gluten Free Birthday Cake Recipe. Same delicious salted caramel flavor minus the gluten!
If you've never had Italian Meringue Buttercream, you are missing out on a great pleasure and should rectify the situation immediately. Like, today.
It's sublimely smooth, rich and ethereal, and not too sweet. I've never met anyone who doesn't love it - even the "non-frosting" people (you know who you are). I should know. I'm a "non-frosting" person myself.
Even as a kid, I would eat the cake and leave the frosting on my plate untouched. Don't get me wrong. I certainly have a sweet tooth. But, when it comes to dessert, I much prefer rich to super sweet.
Cotton candy has never tempted me, but I can't resist a bowl of rich ice cream or gelato.
I've never been a fan of sugary drinks (cool-aid, sweet tea, sweet wine or cocktails - bleh!), but a steamy rich mug of bittersweet hot cocoa always sounds divine. When it comes to candy, I've always preferred dark chocolate and rich caramel to hard candy, which just taste like hardened rocks of pure sugar because, well.. that's what it is.
And covering a cake with a thick layer of your typical confectioners-sugar based buttercream (which often contains little or no actual butter) just makes it too damn sweet. In my opinion, of course. I have a friend who absolutely LOVES super-sweet supermarket buttercream. Me, not so much.
I first came across a recipe for Italian Meringue Buttercream years ago, in my cake decorating days.
I had purchased The Wedding Cake Book by Dede Wilson, and loved her emphasis on never sacrificing flavor for design. Here's how she puts it in the introduction: "I also strongly believe that a cake is a cake first and foremost, and it is meant to be eaten. It is initially taken in with the eyes and should therefore be aesthetically pleasing to the viewer, but it is ultimately meant to be savored."
This was a philosophy I readily adopted. Dede raved about the flavor and consistency of Italian Meringue Buttercream, so I followed her instructions and made a batch. And, holy smokes. It was delicious.
I think it was the first time I had frosting that I actually liked. From that point forward, it was the only frosting I used. At weddings, have you ever looked around and seen hunks of frosting sitting on plates, untouched? That never happens when you use Italian Meringue Buttercream. Every time I would make a cake, I would hear things like, "I've never liked frosting, but this is so good!"
What's more, Italian Meringue Buttercream is beautiful to work with.
It's silky texture and high butter content makes it easy to get those nice smooth surfaces. It's sturdy enough to decorate with and has a lovely silky sheen. I LOVE decorating cakes with this frosting.
It's also easy to flavor. You can beat in melted chocolate, fruit purees, lemon-curd, espresso, liquors, salted caramel sauce, and anything else you want to make whatever flavor that strikes your fancy.
I have made a LOT of different flavors of Italian Meringue Buttercream. But for some reason, in all my years of making the stuff, it's never occurred to me to make a caramel version. I don't know why because caramel is one of my favorite things in the history of ever.
Last week, I was reading my latest issue of Food and Wine magazine, and found a recipe for caramel cake. Looking at the super-sweet frosting used in the recipe, I thought - What if I made some caramel, maybe even salted caramel, and beat that into Italian Meringue Buttercream...
And, just like that, I have a new favorite flavor of Italian Meringue.
It's so good, you will want to eat it by the spoonful. Yes, fellow non-frosting people. Even you will want to eat it by the spoonful.
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Ok. Time for disclaimers... If you've never made Italian Meringue Buttercream, it will seem complicated at first. Please trust me when I say - it's really not.
Do not get scared by the long instructions and please, please, please try it. You'll see. Classic Italian Meringue is simply whipped egg whites that are sweetened and stabilized with a cooked sugar syrup. Italian Meringue Buttercream simply incorporates butter.
I do suggest using a candy thermometer until you've made it enough times to recognize that the syrup is at the right temperature by sight. As you will see, temperature is everything with this recipe. Just pay very close attention to the instructions the first time you make it. After that, it's a breeze....
Unless you don't own a standing mixer. If you don't own a 6 quart standing mixer, you shouldn't even attempt to make Italian Meringue Buttercream. (In which case, you should go buy one just so you CAN make Italian Meringue.) This frosting has to beat for a very, very long time. With a standing mixer, you just let it run and go about your business. So, while this frosting takes longer to make than most, the actual hands-on time is pretty short.
How to make caramel buttercream in advance
You can make the frosting ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for a week or even freeze it for up to 2 months. Just make sure to allow time to bring it to room temperature before using it.
Because of the high butter content, the frosting becomes quite firm when chilled. If you make it ahead of time, which I often do, I've included instructions for reconstituting it to it's proper creamy, silky state at the end of the recipe.
How to make salted caramel sauce in advance
The Salted Caramel flavor in this buttercream comes from the addition of Salted Caramel Sauce, which should be made ahead of time so that it has plenty of time to cool before you add it to the buttercream.
Make the salted caramel sauce at least 6 hours before you want to add it to the buttercream - but the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months and is amazing stuff to have on hand. So, make it as far in advance as you like.
Ok. Enough babbling. Time to start baking caramel cake.
More favorite cake recipes:
- Gluten Free Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream
- The Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Rum Custard and Almond Pralines
- The BEST Vanilla Cake Recipe
- Carrot Cake Recipe with Caramel Rum Sauce
- Tripple Layer Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream
📖 Recipe
Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 5 cups (600 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons (14 grams) baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon (4.5 grams) baking soda
- 2 teaspoons (12 grams) table salt
- 3 sticks (1 ½ cups/ 12 ounces/ 339 grams) of butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups (319 grams) light or dark brown sugar
- 9 large eggs (450 grams), separated, at room temperature
- 1 ½ + ⅓ cups (416 grams) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 4 teaspoons (18.5 grams) pure vanilla extract
TO DECORATE:
- 1 recipe Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Salted Caramel Sauce for drizzling (optional - if making Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream, you can use the leftover caramel sauce)
Almond pralines (optional):
- 1 cup (142 grams) whole almonds, roughly chopped into large pieces
- ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (.5 ounce/ 14 grams) butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Using vegetable shorting or butter, grease three or four 8x3-inch cake pans. Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom of each cake pan and lightly grease the top of the parchment. Shake flour around in each pan to coat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk until well combined.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with both sugars at medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy - about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks in three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating on medium speed for 30-60 seconds after each addition.
- Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 4 additions, beginning and ending with the flour. With each addition, beat on low speed until incorporated, just so your ingredients don't fly out all over the counter. Then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until smooth, before adding the next addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before each addition. Mix in the vanilla on low speed until incorporated.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Incorporate the egg whites completely, but take care to not beat all the air out of the egg whites.
- Distribute the batter evenly into cake pans, smoothing the tops with a spoon or spatula, and bake in the center of your oven for 35 - 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, with only a crumb or two sticking to it. The cakes will be a deep golden brown.
- Remove the pans to wire racks and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before gently turning them out of the pans onto the wire racks to cool completely.
Make the Almond Pralines:
- Heat almonds, sugar, cinnamon, butter, and salt in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until almonds are toasted and sugar is completely melted and golden brown, about 15 minutes. - Spread on aluminum foil or parchment paper and let cool completely. Break into chunks and use to decorate the top of the cake.
- If not frosting immediately after the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day, or frozen for up to 1 month. If freezing, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil.
Notes
- This recipe makes a lot of batter and is best made using a 6-quart mixer. If you have a smaller mixer, you may need to mix the batter in two batches.
- No buttermilk? No problem. DIY Buttermilk: How to make your own
- This recipe makes enough batter to fill: three 8x3-inch round cake pans, four 8x2-inch round cake pans, or two 10-inch round cake pans. The bake time listed in the recipe is for three 8x3-inch layers. If baking 8x2 inch layers the bake time should be reduced by 10-15 minutes.
- Check for doneness after the cakes have been baking for 25 minutes. If baking two 10-inch layers, bake time will need to be increased by 10-15 minutes. Start checking for doneness after the layers have been baking for 45 minutes.
- Nutrition information calculated without pralines.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1/16th of the cakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 740Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 769mgCarbohydrates: 129gFiber: 1gSugar: 98gProtein: 11g
tracy says
This cake looks delicious. I love how helpful you are to those asking questions. Much luck with your website. I love to see nice people succeeding.
Tina says
Have you tried this gluten free?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Tina! I have a totally separate recipe for Gluten Free Caramel Cake that I've made many times for gluten free friends to rave reviews. You'll find it here: Gluten Free Caramel Cake. Please let me know if you have ay questions about the recipe. And if you make it, I'd love to hear what you think!
Kira Starr says
Hello there,
I’m looking to make this cake in cupcake form for my daughter’s birthday. I was thinking I’d half the recipe, but am curious if there is a “foolproof” conversion from cake to cupcake to ensure they do not get too dry…
Thank you in advanced!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Kira! You should be able to cut the ingredients in half pretty easily for everything except the eggs. The full recipe requires 9 eggs; to half the recipe for cupcakes, I'd suggest 4 whole eggs plus one egg white. The temperature of the oven depends on whether you want the cupcakes to have a slightly domed top or a flat top. For a flat top, bake the cupcakes at 325 degrees F (162 degrees C). For a slightly domed top, bake them at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fill each well in your cupcake pan about 4/5 full - I also like to spray the top cupcake pan with a bit of non-stick spray before adding paper liners and batter. This will help you get the cupcakes out of the pan if they rise high enough for the tops of the cupcakes to be touching the pan. You'll also need to reduce the bake time, of course. How long they take to bake will depend on your oven temperature, but I'd say that the range is probably between 18 and 25 minutes, roughly. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'd love to hear how your cupcakes turn out!
Lacey says
Hello!
In step 5. of the cake, when folding in eggwhites, it also says to take care to not “BEAT” all the air out. Should I just be folding whites in until fully incorporated or should I fold AND gently beat?
Thank you!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! Sorry - "beat" might not be the best word to use in that instruction. You are right: gently fold the egg whites into the batter just until they are incorporated. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Megan says
Hello Rebecca!
This looks amazing. I’m planning to make it for my godsons birthday. Howeve I think the quantity might be too much. Planning to halve it. How many eggs would you recommend for the same ? 4 or 5? Or maybe in gms
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Megan! Happy Birthday to your godson! This recipe does make a lot of cake. To halve the recipe, I'd suggest using 4 whole eggs plus one egg yolk. And, for the buttermilk, use 3/4 cup + 3 tbsp (7 ounces). Everything else should cut in half pretty easily. I've been meaning to add weight measurements to this recipe for a while. Your comment urged me to just do it now, so if you'd rather go that route, you'll find the weight measurements in the recipe now. Good luck with the cake! Let me know if you have any other questions and I'd love to hear what you think of this recipe after you make it! xo
Megan Harris says
So i only have 2 nine inch cake pans. Will that work?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Megan! You have two options: Cut the recipe in half and make it twice, so you end up with 4 layers. Or, fill your two cake pans with batter (filling them with 1/4 of the batter each or 1/3 of the batter each depending on whether you want three or four layers), and store the remaining batter in the refrigerator until the first batch of cake layers are baked and out of the pans. Both options will work well.
There is a slight advantage to cutting the recipe in half and baking 2 layers at a time. Baking powder, which helps the cakes rise in the oven, is double acting, which means it activates when mixed with liquid and then activates again with heat. So, it's usually best to get cake batter in the oven as quickly as possible after mixing. Having said that, if the batter sits in the refrigerator for a while before you use it, the cakes will still rise in the oven, they just won't rise quite as high.
I hope that answers your question! Please let me know if you have any more questions! And, I'd love to hear what you think of this cake after you make it! xo
Rochelle says
This Cake is probably the Best I’ve ever tasted or made!!! The first time my buttercream was perfection. Then, I made it a second time and the caramel didn’t combine well with my buttercream. It still tasted wonderful just little bits of caramels were throughout it. Any pointers or ideas of what happened? My caramel was cooled and I was afraid to warm it to add to buttercream.
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe Rochelle! To answer your question about why the caramel didn't combine completely... My guess is that it had to do with temperature. Most "problems" with Italian Meringue Buttercream come down to temperature. If both the caramel and the buttercream were on the cold side, that might have prevented the caramel from fully incorporating. Think of it this way - when making cake batter it's important to have the butter at room temperature because if it's cold, it won't fully blend with the sugar. The same thing can happen with this buttercream. If the caramel is quite cold and the butter in the buttercream is also cold, the two will have a difficult time combining. Does that make sense?
Next time, heat the caramel slightly. You don't want it to be too warm... but if both the caramel and the buttercream are at room temperature, they should blend. One other thing to note is that even if both the caramel and buttercream are too cold and not coming together, if you beat them long enough they will. So, if this happens again, just keep beating. They'll combine eventually. 🙂
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Rochelle says
Thank you so very much for the tips!! It makes perfect sense!