Salted Caramel Cake

Name: Salted Caramel Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 500 g Butter or baking spread (softened, unsalted); 500 g Light brown soft sugar; 9 Eggs (large); 500 g Self raising flour; 3 tsp Vanilla extract; 300 g Butter (softened, unsalted); 600 g Icing sugar; 150 g Salted caramel sauce (good quality shop bought or homemade); 2-3 tbsp Milk; 200 g Salted caramel sauce (good quality shop bought or homemade); Fudge sprinkles (optional)

02/08/2019 by thebakingexplorer 55 Comments

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This Salted Caramel Cake has a brown sugar sponge, a salted caramel buttercream and it's got salted caramel sauce between each layer and on top! I don't think I could have got any more salted caramel into this cake! Salted caramel sauce is pretty easy to find nowadays because the flavour is so popular, but if you can't find it in your local supermarket you can make your own Homemade Caramel Sauce. This is such fabulous showstopper cake and great for birthdays or any other celebrations!

Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
If you need a caramel sauce recipe, try my Homemade Caramel Sauce.
I really do recommend using light brown soft sugar for this cake, for a delicious caramelised flavour. If you can't get hold it, caster sugar will also work, but the cake will be lighter in colour.
For best results, use an electric mixer to make this recipe.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Salted Caramel Cake

To make the cake, mix the butter and sugar together, then whisk in eggs and vanilla extract. Add self raising flour and mix in, then divide the batter between the cake tins. Bake for 35 minutes, then leave to cool completely.

Make the buttercream by mixing icing sugar, butter, milk and salted caramel sauce together. Pipe the buttercream between each layer and drizzle the salted caramel sauce on top. Decorate the cake with some fudge pieces and a generous drizzling of salted caramel sauce.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

What caramel sauce is best to use?

My favourite caramel sauce to use is my Homemade Caramel Sauce, it's rich, smooth and absolutely divine! You can also easily add salt to it to make it into a salted caramel sauce. If you don't want to make your own, it's quite easy nowadays to find a good quality ready made caramel (or salted caramel) sauce in the shops or online. I have used Tesco's Finest, Bonn Maman and Carnation Caramel in the past with great results.

How long does the Salted Caramel Cake last for and can you freeze it?

The cake will keep in an airtight container for 3 days in a cool place. You can freeze the sponges either alone, or decorated. Once the sponges are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container with some baking paper between them. You can freeze the buttercream on it’s own in a tub, or you can decorate the cake and freeze it fully assembled. To do this and avoid damage to the decoration, freeze it either in an airtight container. Or let it freeze solid on a cake board or plate, then wrap in cling film. Remove the cling film when you take it out to defrost it, if you don’t it could damage the decoration as it defrosts and softens. You can also freeze slices of the cake, again well wrapped in cling film or in airtight containers.

Can you make the cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add 5 teaspoons baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can this recipe be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add additonal baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 5 teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add ¾ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread and dairy free milk for both the cake and buttercream. You will also need to use a dairy free salted caramel sauce. Please check the labels of everything you use if serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made in different size cake tins?

If you would like to make this cake in different size tins, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the recipe.

Can this cake be made into a two layer cake?

Yes! This cake recipe can be easily divided into a two layer (or even one layer) cake. Please check the recipe notes for the ingredient amounts.

Can this cake be made into cupcakes?

Yes! I have a Salted Caramel Cupcakes recipe that you can follow to make this recipe into cupcakes.

More tips for making the Salted Caramel Cupcakes:

The piping nozzle I used for this cake was Ateco 849, however you can use any nozzle you like to pipe the buttercream on.
I like to pipe the buttercream between the layers, but you can also spread it with a spoon or palette knife.
You could also decorate the cake with some homemade Salted Caramel Fudge.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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