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A chocolate caramel cake on a cake stand with a section cut from it.
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4 / 3 votes

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

This stunning dessert is made with two layers of rich chocolate cake that's filled with salty-sweet caramel buttercream frosting.
Prep Time1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time6 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 308

Ingredients

For the salted caramel

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 ¼ cups heavy cream, warmed
  • 3 tablespoons (1 ½ oz) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (13-mm) cubes
  • ¾ teaspoon table salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate cake

For the salted caramel frosting

  • 1 recipe salted caramel, (above)
  • 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, at warm room temp (68° to 70°F | 20° to 21°C), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • Sea salt, if needed
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the salted caramel

  • Make sure you have all the ingredients for the caramel at the ready.
  • Spread the sugar evenly in a light-colored saucepan or deep skillet, which lets you monitor the sugar's color change, and crank the heat to medium-high.
  • As the pan heats, shake and swirl it often so the sugar heats evenly. Avoid stirring for the moment.
  • Once the sugar begins to clump, stir with a heatproof spatula. The sugar will go through various stages—all of them scary-looking! At first, it’ll look wavy, then chunky, then hopelessly like a pile of tan pebbles. Keep cooking.
    Sugar melting to become caramel in a skillet.
  • Once melted, let the sugar turn amber (think of the color of an old penny) without stirring. Watch closely to prevent burning.
    Caramel sauce cooking in a skillet.
  • CAREFULLY pour in the cream a bit at a time, whisking continuously.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: The caramel will bubble furiously, so stand back while drizzling in the cream.

    Caramel sauce bubbling in the skillet.
  • Boil the caramel for 1 minute, whisking until any stubborn hard bits of caramel melt.
  • Slide the pan off the heat and whisk in the butter, salt, and vanilla, until smooth.
    Cubes of butter added to caramel sauce in a skillet.
  • Pour the salted caramel sauce into a heatproof bowl and let it sit at room temperature for an hour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave it on the counter for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
    Caramel sauce inside a glass mixing bowl.

Make the salted caramel frosting

  • Whip the room-temperature caramel in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
    Whipped caramel frosting in a glass mixing bowl.
  • Beat in the room-temperature butter, a piece at a time, until smooth and supple. (If your frosting curdles, see the FAQ above.) Add a pinch of sea salt, if desired.
    Cubes of butter added to whipped caramel sauce in a glass mixing bowl.

Assemble and frost the cake

  • Place one cake layer on a turntable or cake plate. Plop about 3/4 cup of frosting on top and spread to the edge.
    Whipped caramel frosting in a glass bowl.
  • Crown with the second cake layer and plop 1 1/2 cups of frosting on top. Spread the frosting thinly over the top and sides of the cake with an offset spatula to create a crumb coat, which, as its name suggests, seals in crumbs!
  • Slide the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes to set.
  • Finish decorating the cake with the remaining frosting. Then...devour!
    A chocolate caramel cake on a cake stand with a section cut from it.

Notes

  1. Protection--Wear an oven mitt when adding the cream to the melted sugar if caramel making is new to you. It can get steamy.
  2. Temperature—It's crucial that the caramel and butter are at room temperature before making the frosting; otherwise, you'll have a curdled mess on your hands!
  3. Storage—Leftover cake can be stored under a cake dome in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 158mg | Sugar: 35g