Like everyone else in the country, I recently read The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My childhood was not filled with what some would have you believe are the typical Southern Sunday Suppers of macaroni and cheese and fried chicken, but the Caramel Cake does have a special place in my heart. Beloved by both my grandfathers, this cake was often present at family gatherings, bought at a local French bakery, but distinctly perfectly Southern all the same.
It was out of character for both of my grandmothers, each fabulous cooks in their own right, to purchase a premade good to serve the family, but after making several myself, I can understand why the stress and slight danger of making a caramel cake was best left to the professionals when grandchildren were running around and copious other dishes needed tending. Particularly when the professionals did such an authentic job.
Still, I have a rule for myself: premade goods and shortcuts are fine, as long as I know that I can do it the old-fashioned way. Plus, I no longer live in my hometown of Atlanta, and could not purchase the famed Caramel Cake, even if I wanted to. Not for the faint-of-baking heart, the secret to this cake is the make-you-die-early (a.k.a omg-this-is-delicious) Southern trifecta: butter, sugar, cream. I am usually not a recipe hound, but this one must be precisely followed in order to yield the desired result. You cannot rush the frosting on this cake. REPEAT: You Cannot Rush This Frosting! The frosting is why this cake takes two days to make, but it is also what makes it so very, very special. You are essentially making a classic caramel sauce, and then whipping the dickens out of it.
Try the recipe, love the cake, and don’t come crying to me if it doesn’t turn out because you didn’t follow instructions.
If you came for the pictures, and decided it’s more than you’d like to bother with even though you’d still love to try an authentic Caramel Cake, I HIGHLY recommend ordering a cake from Caroline’s Cakes. You can order here. This is not an affiliate link ( read: I don’t get any kickback from you ordering there ), her cakes are just truly fantastic and I get that not everyone wants to spend two days of their life making a cake!!!
TWO DAY CARAMEL CAKE
Frosting:
- 2 pounds light brown sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter, sliced into 1 tablespoon pats
Find the heaviest saucepan you have that is at least 6 quarts. I like to use the bottom part of my pressure cooker. Stir together the sugar and cream in the cold pan, turn the heat to medium, and bring to a rolling boil ( see picture on the far left from the below photos; there will be lots of bubbles and a sort of lighter foam to go along with them). Do not stir once the boil has begun.
Boil exactly one minute. Add baking soda and boil for exactly one more minute. Be careful: the mixture will foam up as in the picture on the right.
Remove from the heat and add the butter, but Do Not stir the butter as it melts.
Once the butter has completely melted, stir the mixture just enough to combine the melted butter, and let it cool to room temperature. Next, cover the pan and place it in the refrigerator. Let it sit overnight.
A small note here: it will be ugly. It will look nothing like the final pictures. You will be worried. Trust me, it’s going to be okay.
After the frosting has thoroughly chilled in the refrigerator, beat it using the whisk attachment (if you have one) on your blender. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. If after this time your caramel still hasn’t whipped into a thick frosting, chill it for another hour and beat it again.
Now, it’s cake time!
For the cake:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 1/3 cups self-rising flour
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Grease and flour three 9″ cake pans. If you’ve never done this before, it’s easy. Rub the inside of the pan with butter. Throw a handful of flour in the pan, and shake the pan around like you’re panning for gold, making sure to turn it on its side in order to get the edges and nooks and crannies of the pan.
Beat the butter until it becomes fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until completely combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is thoroughly mixed in before adding the next.
Mix in 2/3 cup of flour, followed by 1/4 cup of milk, repeating until all flour and milk have been added.
Beat in the vanilla extract.
Pour the batter into the three pans, and bake for 25 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean).
Once the cakes have cooled, place the first layer of your cake on a cake stand or plate, and line the edges of the stand with parchment paper. This will let you go crazy with frosting without ruining your clean stand.
Spread a layer of frosting on each level of cake, finishing with a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Place the cake in the fridge until the first coat (aka crumb layer) of frosting sets, and then apply the final coat of frosting for a smooth finish.
I tried to make this recipe for my dad’s birthday. When I took the frosting out of the refrigerator and started to whip it, it literally broke my hand held whipper. Then, I tried using the food processor to whip it, and it broke that too. The frosting is too cold and thick coming out of the refrigerator. I am annoyed because now I am down two kitchen appliances, and one birthday cake from using this stupid recipe. Might want to warn others.
I am so sorry to hear that! I have a big KitchenAid countertop mixer, and it struggled about the same amount as when I make bread dough, but no more. Next time I make the cake I will play around with the frosting and see if I can come up with a different way to stabilize the frosting instead of whipping it while so cold so that no one else has to go through what you did. My apologies, again!
how about whipping small batches instead? just thinking
Have you tried omitting the butter from the frosting and chilling the caramel, then beating in soft butter? This would be similar to swiss buttercream. Note: my swiss buttercream requires 15 minutes in a stand mixer to come together, it’s easy to beat but pretty ugly until it comes together.
How and when did you transfer the caramel mixture from the cooking pan to the stand mixer bowl? I was just thinking about pans to use, I have a good sized le creuset which I think will be good for making the frosting, but I would want to use my kitchenaid also for the whipping. So just trying to figure out that transfer.
The le Creuset would be perfect for the frosting! Just let it cool completely down in that pot and refrigerate (covered ) in that same pot. Scrape it out into your kitchenaid bowl to mix immediately before beating it.
great thanks!
U might wanna try defrosting it at room temp br attempting to whip, and plz dont discourage others frm trying it
When I read the recipe, I knew not to use it. Read any number of recipes for real caramel for frosting, beating refrigerated caramel is not usually advised!!!!!!!!!!!
Part of the setting up of real caramel is cooking it to the soft-ball stage as real caramel frosting is actually candy!
I was very ambitious and made this cake for Christmas. The cake turned out very well. Everyone loved it. I did a few things differently though, I didn’t have light brown sugar, I used dark brown instead, didn’t have self rising flour only Arcade my own self rising. Everything turned out fine.
That was all purpose not arcade .
You only need to add some baking powder and salt to make self-rising flour from all-purpose. Baking websites give amounts needed. I haven’t tried this yet but I will. And I thought the boiled custard buttercream icing for original Red Velvet cake was temperamental!
My mother -in -law made this cake years ago, And never like this, After you cook the caramel , take it off the stove add the soda, then let it cool a while and spread on cake, I love it, It is my favorite
I follow the instructions of the frosting but found that after whisking it the following day, all of the sugar had not dissolve and it was a little gritty. The flavor overall was awesome though.
I dont know what I could have done for it not to be gritty.
Marta
Caramel is such a finicky thing. I’d be lying if I said it comes out perfectly for me every time. Annoyingly, too little or too much heat can cause the gritty texture. For me, it is usually too much ( my stove is an angry beast at times! ), so lowering the heat a little and scraping down the sides of the pan can help make sure it doesn’t happen for me most of the time. Also, I have heard that corn syrup can help ensure a smooth caramel, but as that is not something I usually keep in my kitchen, I have not tried that trick.
Quick question about adding the baking soda to the caramel. Do you stir it in or just toss it on top and let the boiling liquid do the work? I know that crystals can form in the caramel if bothered too much so that’s why I ask.
I usually give the baking soda one swirl into the caramel ( one go around the pan, if that makes sense ), and that is it. You’re right — disturbing it too much can interfere with the whole process!
Should the frosting be fluffy like buttercream or like melted caramel? It came together and then started getting liquid-like again.
It will be like a very heavy crusting buttercream. Whipping some butter into it may help!
As the daughter of a missionary in Honduras, I was amazed at the way they made the most delicious caramel frosting I have ever eaten. They would put an unopened can of condensed milk into a sauce pan, put water to the top of the can (but not over the top), then bring it to a soft boil, then continue to boil for one hour. Make sure you add boiling water as the water evaporates, Allow the can to cool before opening. IT IS DELICIOUS!
This is the best way to make caramel.
I read the comment about the frosting breaking two different mixers. Do you have to put the frosting in the fridge before whipping it, or could it sit at room temp overnight?
I have always let it cool in the fridge overnight, but you could probably let to come completely to room temperature and then beat it. The frosting will not be as thick if you do it that way, though.
I have a standard Kitchenaid stand mixer and never had any problems making the frosting after chilling it. I do not think a handheld mixer could handle the job.
I’m planning on making this for my daughter’s birthday. It sounds great and easy enough. But do you have any advice for adjusting the cake ingredients for only a two layer cake instead of three? First, I don’t have three pans, and really we don’t need that much cake! Thanks!
I totally understand — it’s a huge cake! I always make the three tiers as it’s something I usually make for large occasions ( because it’s scary to think what might happen if just my husband and I were left alone with such a large amount of cake in the house … ), but if I were to reduce it, I would do so like this:
I hope your family loves this cake as much as mine has, and a very happy birthday to your daughter!
Thanks!
Whenever I make a cake and want to cut back the size, I use the extra to make cupcakes. I can always freeze the cupcakes for a rainy day.
Sorry for all the comments, but this is the first time I’ve made a cake completely from scratch. I went with the three layers after all, and my crumb layer is setting in the fridge. The frosting seemed to come together okay, but I worry it is a bit runny. When you are done frosting do you cover and leave out? Cover and refrigerate? Or leave uncovered and out? Thanks!
No worries! That’s what I’m here for :).
I usually just leave it out once I’m done frosting it. It should get a nice crust like a buttercream would get. I’ve left it out overnight and it was fine, but anymore than two days and it does start to “weep” a little, if that makes sense — like the frosting starts to break down. Although the last time that happened it was about 115 degrees outside, so I’m sure that didn’t help!
Hi! I want to make this cake for Valentine’s Day. My question for you regarding the flour. White Lilly or regular selfrising?
What’s your recommendation?
Thanks.
I actually use good ol’ All Purpose Flour. I have tried it with a few flours, and although there are slight differences, I don’t think any of them merit a ( what would be for me ) the special purchase of flour, when I always have tons of AP Flour already in my pantry!
I want to make this cake,but can I use Cake Flour? I believe that Cake Flour produced a more tender Cake,so let me know if I can use that instead of All-Purpose Flour or Self- Rising Flour.
I tried the Sweetened Condense Milk by slow boiling and that didn’t work…So tell me what I did wrong. ..Help Please.
Hi! I have not tried using cake flour with this cake, as I like the sturdiness the AP Flour gives it ( to hold up all that heavy caramel frosting!). I’m not sure about the sweetened condensed milk either, as I have never tried that method before. I make a classic Southern caramel with butter, sugar, and cream and it always turns out for me. Good luck!
It was interesting to hear that others had trouble whipping this frosting. My KitchenAid stand mixer was struggling when I had the whisk attachment on it. I didn’t want to burn the motor on it, so I soon changed over to the paddle attachment and could beat it with that. I never did get the frosting to the frosting consistency though, and in frustration I finally added icing sugar. Too bad! I’d spent a lot of time looking for a caramel frosting recipe that didn’t include icing sugar!!
I’ve been so excited about trying this cake! Sadly, I only had 1.5c whipping cream and .5 c of whole milk for the frosting. I suppose that’s why it doesn’t want to whip up for me. Wonder how I could fix it?
Hi. I’ve used this recipe for several years now and my family LOVES it, so I thank you.
My concern is that at times I really struggle with the frosting not thickening. It remains runny, even after whipping it like crazy. I really want to get it right this year, please let me know what I’m doing wrong, or what I should do differently to get a more solid frosting texture. Thanks
I recently read that candies ( which essentially this frosting is ) don’t set the same depending on the altitude. I live about 3 ft above sea level, so my candies apparently set quicker! Perhaps try giving the caramel just about 15 – 30 seconds more cooking before you take it off the heat and see if that helps!
What Bakery in Atlanta??
Rhodes!
Hi, I want to make this cake for Easter Sunday desert. I want to know how moist is the Caramel Cake. I will be using the half recipe you had suggested. Happy Easter to you and yours. Mary G
I would say it’s the same amount of moist as a regular bakery style cake. It is not as moist as a carrot or coconut cake – it is fairly sturdy in order to stand up to the stiff frosting