How to make a delicious salted caramel cake recipe with a soft and tender vanilla cake filled with a layer of salted caramel sauce, salted mascarpone frosting and salted caramel Swiss buttercream. A perfect caramel cake for special occasions or as a special gift for your loved ones.
*Recipe updated on 09/04/24 (recipe and photos)
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For all salted caramel lovers, you won't be able to resist this delicious salted caramel cake recipe with its tender and moist cake and its delicious salted buttery caramel taste.
Made with a soft and moist vanilla cake, filled with a layer of whipped mascarpone frosting flavored with caramel, a layer of homemade salted caramel sauce and wrapped with Swiss meringue buttercream and a caramel drizzle.
Very greedy and tasty, this caramel cake is the perfect birthday cake or for any special occasion, to serve on a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a bit of whipped cream and some pecans for crunch.
Why you'll love this recipe
Craving for more Caramel recipes? Give these a try, salted caramel cinnamon rolls, caramel iced coffee, Salted caramel cupcakes, caramel chocolate chip cookies and salted caramel ganache.
Ingredients Notes
You need these ingredients to make this salted butter caramel cake:
- Vanilla cake: Flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and buttermilk (see recipe notes for substitutions).
- Caramel mascarpone frosting: Mascarpone, heavy cream, powdered sugar, salted caramel, and vanilla.
- Swiss caramel buttercream: Egg whites, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla, and salted caramel.
- Homemade caramel sauce: Granulated sugar, unsalted butter or salted butter, and heavy cream.
How to Make Salted Caramel Cake
Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full recipe instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the recipe card below!
Vanilla cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C and line two 6 inch/ 15 cm diameter cake pans with parchment paper.
- Mix and sift the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes until creamy.
- Incorporate the vanilla and eggs, ensuring thorough mixing after each addition, then continue mixing for another 5 minutes.
- Gradually fold in the dry mixture and buttermilk alternately and in several additions until you have a homogeneous batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden and cooked through in the center.
- Remove from the pans and let cool upside down on a wire rack.
Salted caramel sauce
- Place granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until it becomes liquid and turns amber.
- While still on the heat, gently add the heavy cream and stir to incorporate it, then cook again to thicken the caramel.
- Finish with the salted butter cubes and sea salt and transfer to a glass jar.
Salted caramel buttercream
- Place the eggs and granulated sugar in the mixing bowl and make a double boiler on a saucepan containing a small amount of water heated over medium heat.
- Check with a candy thermometer which should read at least 131°F/55°C (you should no longer feel the sugar grains).
- Place the bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix at high speed for 10-15 minutes until you have a firm meringue.
- Reduce mixer speed and stir in softened unsalted butter, then mix again with the paddle attachment until you have a smooth Swiss meringue buttercream.
- Keep at room temperature until the cake is assembled.
Caramel frosting
- Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the pastry whisk, cold mascarpone cheese, cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until you have a firm, fluffy frosting.
Assemble the cake
- Slice the 2 cakes using a cake leveler to obtain 4 layers of equal thickness.
- Place a cake board on your turntable and place a first layer of cake on it.
- Apply a ring of caramel buttercream, then fill the inside with caramel frosting and add a layer of caramel.
- Cover with the second layer and repeat the last step until the last layer of cake.
- Cover the cake with caramel buttercream and smooth with an offset spatula then finish with a icing smoother.
- Drizzle the leftover caramel sauce over the top of the cake and decorate with the remaining buttercream using a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Tips for this cake
Storage instructions
Fridge: Store your cake in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days covered in an airtight container box or under plastic wrap and take it out about 30 minutes before serving.
How to freeze? You can store the leftover cake in the freezer, cut into slices and placed in storage bags for up to 3 months. Let them thaw gently in the refrigerator overnight.
Variations & Substitutions
Recipe Questions
Can I use store-bought caramel sauce for the cake?
Yes, you can use store-bought caramel sauce if you're short on time. However, homemade caramel sauce often provides a richer flavor.
Can I omit the salt in the recipe?
While salt enhances the flavor of caramel, you can omit it if you prefer a sweeter caramel taste. Adjust the salt according to your personal preference.
More Layer Cake Recipes
I hope you love this caramel cake recipe. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!
Print
Salted Caramel Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
Description
Salted caramel cake recipe with a soft and moist vanilla cake, filled with caramel mascarpone frosting, salted caramel sauce filling, and a Salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream (for a 6 inches /15 cm cake 10 -12 parts)
Ingredients
Vanilla cake
- 200 g (1 cup + 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter - softened
- 350 g (1¾ cups) granulated sugar
- 4 eggs - at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 340 g (2¾ cups) all-purpose flour
- 20 g (2 tablespoons) cornstarch
- 1 packet baking powder (11 g or 2 teaspoons)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (4 g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (3 g)
- 294 ml (1¼ cups) buttermilk
Salted caramel mascarpone frosting
- 200 g (7 oz) mascarpone cheese - cold
- 300 ml (1¼ cups) heavy cream - full fat and cold
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar - sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 80 g (¼ cup) salted caramel sauce
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
Caramel Swiss buttercream
- 6 egg whites
- 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 300 g (1¼ cups) unsalted butter - softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 100 g (⅓ cup) salted caramel sauce
Salted caramel sauce
Instructions
Salted Caramel Sauce
Follow my recipe for Salted caramel sauce
Vanilla cake
- -Preheat the oven to 165°C (325°F) and line two 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pans, 7 cm (2.75 inches) high, with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, mix and sift together the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter with the sugar for 3 minutes until creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and continue to beat for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes voluminous.
- Alternately and gradually fold in the dry ingredients mixture and the buttermilk with a spatula until you get a homogeneous and creamy batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. (5 minutes before the end of baking, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake; it should come out clean or with a few crumbs.)
- Allow to cool in the pans for a few minutes before gently removing and letting them cool completely upside down on a wire rack.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream with Caramel
- Place the egg whites and granulated sugar in a heatproof bowl and heat the mixture over a double boiler in a saucepan containing a little water heated over medium heat.
- While whisking continuously, check the temperature of the mixture, which should reach 55°C (131°F) (the sugar should also be completely dissolved).
- Transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed for about 10 minutes until a cooled and stiff Swiss meringue forms.
- Reduce the mixer speed and gradually incorporate the butter and vanilla, then continue mixing until you get a thick and smooth cream (the mixture may become grainy; keep mixing until it becomes more homogeneous).
- Finish by adding the slightly warmed salted caramel, then switch to the paddle attachment and mix again on low speed until you get a smooth and pliable buttercream.
Caramel Frosting
- In a large bowl, place all the ingredients: cold mascarpone, cold heavy cream, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and slightly warmed and cooled salted caramel sauce.
- Whisk with an electric mixer at medium-low speed for about 2 minutes until you get a smooth and firm glaze.
Layer Cake Assembly:
- Using a cake leveler or a large serrated knife, slice the 2 cakes into 2 layers to get 4 cake layers.
- Place one cake layer on a cake board placed on a turntable.
- Apply a ring of caramel buttercream around the outer edges, fill the center with caramel glaze, then add a layer of slightly warmed but not too hot salted caramel sauce.
- Cover with the second cake layer and repeat the previous step until the last cake layer.
- Cover the entire layer cake with a very thin layer of buttercream smoothed with an offset spatula and place the layer cake in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer.
- Cover with a thicker layer of buttercream and smooth with a steel cake smoother.
- Chill the cake again in the fridge for 30 minutes before drizzling with salted caramel sauce (warm but not too hot), then decorate the top of the cake with the remaining caramel buttercream.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*For the best baking results, I recommend using a digital scale to measure ingredients in grams instead of cups. Precise measurements ensure consistent and perfect outcomes every time.
Storage: Up to 4-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap, and up to 3 months in the freezer.
After refrigeration, remember to take the layer cake out 30 minutes beforehand to soften the buttercream slightly.
Substitute for buttermilk: You can replace buttermilk with regular milk or make homemade buttermilk by mixing milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Alternatively, you can mix half milk with plain yogurt or sour cream.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: cake, Dessert, Layer cake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 472
- Sugar: 25
- Sodium: 357
- Fat: 32
- Saturated Fat: 15
- Carbohydrates: 41
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 6
- Cholesterol: 95
Hello, I will be testing this cake for my son's first birthday. Can you tell me where you bought the cake stand?
Hello, I got it on Wish.
This caramel cake looks delicious, and I'd love to try it, but I'm concerned it might be too sweet with caramel in the creams. Do you think I could just put the caramel inside the cake, will it be flavorful enough? Thanks for your blog and all your recipes!
Hello and thank you for your message. With caramel in the frosting and buttercream , you'll indeed have a very flavorful caramel cake. It's true that caramel adds a sweet taste, so you can slightly reduce the sugar in the buttercream or omit it in the frosting. However, to lessen the caramel flavor, you can simply use it between the layers of sponge cake. The cake will still be flavorful enough!