Southern Caramel Cake Recipes

CLASSIC SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE RECIPE - (3.8/5)

Steps:

• CAKE: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 9-inch cake pans and add optional parchment paper. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat for 5 more minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well after each. Add flour and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat well. Divide among pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes until set. Turn out of pans onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely. FROSTING: Mix all ingredients over medium-low heat in a 3- to 4-quart cast iron dutch oven. Swirl pan to keep ingredients moving in the pan. Cook to softball stage, 235ºF to 245ºF on a candy thermometer, or when a drop forms a soft ball in a cup of cold water. Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy and ready to spread.

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMEL WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment. Butter paper, and flour pans. Beat together butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine sour cream and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture and starting and ending with flour mixture.
• Divide batter between pans. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans, about 30 minutes. Invert cakes, remove pans and parchment, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Make the filling: In a small saucepan, stir together 2 cups sugar, cream, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar evenly in a shallow, heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sugar is melted and light golden brown (sugar will clump).
• Slowly add cream mixture to caramelized sugar, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until it reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage), about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand, without stirring, until temperature drops to 200 degrees, about 20 minutes.
• Fit mixer with whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Divide filling into thirds. Working with one-third at a time, roll out on parchment paper into an 8-inch round; set aside. Repeat process with remaining filling.
• Assemble the cake: Trim tops of cakes with a serrated knife to make level, then cut each cake in half horizontally. Place a bottom layer on a cake stand, and top with one round of filling. Repeat process with remaining cake layers and remaining 2 rounds of filling. Spread entire cake top and sides with caramel whipped cream, smoothing top and sides. Refrigerate cake until firm, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 2 days; if refrigerated, let cake come to room temperature before serving.

CLASSIC SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans by greasing them and lining the bottom of each cake pan with a circle of parchment paper. The parchment paper makes it easier to get the cake out of the pan. Beat butter until light and fluffy and then add sugar and beat for about 5 more minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well after each. Add flour and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with flour and mix well after each. Add vanilla and beat well. Divide among pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until set. Turn out of pans onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Prepare Southern Caramel Icing as cakes are cooling then frost the cake. FROSTING: Mix all ingredients in a 3-4 quart cast iron dutch oven. Swirl pan to keep ingredients moving in the pan. Cook to softball stage 235º - 245º on a candy thermometer or when tested in a cup of cold water. Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy and ready to spread. No thermometer? Do the cold water test: Take a some of the caramel and drop it into a bowl or cup of cold water. Give it a few seconds to cool. Fish around in the bowl or cup of cold water and try to retrieve the caramel and make a little ball with it. If you stick your fingers into the bowl, pull out a gooey mess and you can't do anything but smear the caramel, you need to boil the caramel some more. There is still too much water in your caramel and the concentration of sugar is too low. The caramel may even form little threads in the water, but if you cannot get the threads to form into a ball, you have some more boiling to do.

CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.
• Cream white sugar, 1 1/2 cups butter, and eggs together in a bowl. Beat well.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add to the sugar mixture alternately with milk. Add vanilla extract. Beat until batter makes ribbons when falling from the whisk or beater. Divide batter among the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool layers on a rack before icing, at least 1 hour.
• Combine brown sugar, 1 cup butter, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until brown sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add evaporated milk and continue stirring. Bring to a gentle boil and let bubble for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Remove from heat and allow to cool, about 5 minutes.
• Mix confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract into the butter-milk mixture using an electric mixer until icing caramelizes and thickens to the desired consistency.
• Spread icing onto the cooled cake layers. Stack layers; ice top and sides.

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the cake ingredients.
• Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans , lining the bottom with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides as this can prevent the cake from rising properly. If not using a springform pan, you can insert strips of parchment paper along the sides (lightly greasing the pan helps the paper stick). Position a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven and heat to 350 F.
• In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed, beat the butter until creamy and a little airy, about 2 minutes.
• Slowly add the granulated sugar and cream for 5 to 6 minutes, scraping the sides as needed, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
• Beat in the vanilla extract, then add the flour blend and buttermilk alternating the two ingredients in increments, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until thoroughly combined but do not overmix.
• Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it equally in each and spreading the batter evenly.
• Bake, rotating the pans half way through baking time, until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the pans to a rack. Continue to cool the cake while you make the frosting.
• Gather the frosting ingredients.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the light and dark brown sugar, butter, buttermilk, cream, salt, and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture comes to a soft boil.
• Once the mixture foams and has bubbles around the edges, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. The caramel should not reach more than 225 F on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from the heat and let cool, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Beat the frosting until it reaches a thick but spreadable consistency and begins to lose its glossiness. By hand with a whisk or spatula, this may take 10 minutes; in a stand mixer, it may only take 5 minutes.
• While the frosting is semi-fluid, begin frosting the cake. Start by pouring about a quarter of the frosting over the bottom cake layer (right-side-up) and spreading it out evenly.
• Add the top cake layer, pour about half of the remaining frosting on top, and spread it out evenly. Smooth out any drips that form on the sides.
• Begin with a light layer of frosting all the way around the cake to seal in the crumb, then build up the side with more frosting as it thickens. If you need to smooth it out or the frosting becomes sticky, dip the spatula into a bowl of hot water.
• Let the cake rest for 1 to 2 hours to allow the frosting to set completely before serving.

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two (9-inch) cake pans. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
• Add eggs, one at a time, and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add about a third of the flour and mix on low speed until combined. Add about half of the buttermilk and continue to mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue to add flour and buttermilk in the same way, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Add vanilla and combine fully, making sure not to overmix.
• Divide batter evenly between pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning the cakes onto wire racks to cool completely.
• As the cake bakes, make the icing: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium and let the mixture bubble for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Carefully and slowly add the buttermilk (it will bubble up), stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove from heat and add salt. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar, mixing until smooth, then add vanilla extract and mix to combine. The icing should look glossy and pour easily from the bowl.
• While the icing is still warm, spread about 1 cup icing on one cake, then top with the second cake. Use the rest of the icing on the top and sides of the cake. The icing will set up as it cools. If the icing starts to harden, microwave the icing in 10-second intervals until smooth. (You can also make the icing up to 3 to 5 days in advance, and keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.) Serve immediately.

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Use the first 10 ingredients for the cake.
• Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray OR grease and flour them.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream 1 cup unsalted butter, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 2 1/2 cups sugar on high until fully incorporated and light and fluffy, about 5 to 6 minutes.
• Turn mixer to medium speed and mix in eggs and egg yolks one at a time until well incorporated.
• Add in vanilla extract and mix.
• With the mixer on slow speed, alternate adding in flour mixture and sour cream, ending with flour until mixed through.
• Do not overmix.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
• Bake in preheated oven for 23-30 minutes or until fully baked. (Over-baking will dry these cakes out).
• 11. Place on cooling rack for 10 minutes.
• Remove cakes from pan and cool completely.
• Use last four ingredients for Caramel Icing.
• Add butter, evaporated milk, and 2 cups sugar to saucepan over medium heat until everything has melted together.
• Leave over medium to low heat, stirring periodically, for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours (keeping an eye on it so it doesn't burn) until thickened and caramel has darkened to a golden brown. It should coat the back of a spoon. Reduce heat while cooking if necessary to prevent burning.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.
• Cool for 15 to 20 minutes before icing the cake.