Best Layer Cake With Caramel Frosting Recipes

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.

BROWN-SUGAR LAYER CAKE WITH CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• 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 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.
• Trim tops of cakes with a serrated knife to make level, then cut each cake in half horizontally. Reserve 1 bottom layer for another use. Place remaining bottom layer on a cake stand, and spread evenly with 1 1/4 cups frosting. Repeat with a second layer and another 1 1/4 cups frosting. Place third layer on top. Spread entire cake top and sides with 1 1/4 cups frosting. Refrigerate cake until firm, about 30 minutes. Spread with 1 1/2 cups frosting, smoothing top and sides. Serve immediately with marzipan animals, or refrigerate up to 2 days; if refrigerated, let cake come to room temperature before serving.

CARAMEL CAKE

Steps:

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.
• Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.
• Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 27 to 29 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack to that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Quick Caramel Frosting.
• Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with the warm frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes. Work quickly, as the frosting will set. (If the frosting gets too hard to work with, place the pan back over low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly, to soften it up.) Once the frosting has set, slice and serve.
• Store this cake, covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.
• Place the butter and brown sugars in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add the milk, stir, and bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until the frosting is smooth.
• Use immediately (while still warm) to frost the cake of your choice or the frosting will harden. If it does harden while you are frosting the cake, simply place the pan back over low heat and stir until the frosting softens up.

PUMPKIN LAYER CAKE WITH CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Flour the pans and paper.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, butter, spices and salt. Beat on medium-high until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds between each egg. Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée and mix until well combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. The mixture will look curdled.
• Set mixer to low, and add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring until a few spots of flour remain. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use a rubber spatula to finish folding the dry ingredients into the batter. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed.
• Divide the batter among the prepared pans (about 3 cups per pan), smooth the tops, and tap the pans on a countertop to release any large air bubbles. Bake the cakes until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then use the tip of a knife to loosen the edges and carefully invert them onto the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce: In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and 3 tablespoons water. Swirl the pan occasionally until the sugar dissolves, but do not stir. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally to help the mixture brown evenly, until it is deep amber in color. At this point, don't walk away from the pot: The caramel will go from amber to burned in mere moments.
• Remove the pan from the heat, and carefully whisk in butter and heavy cream. The mixture will expand and sputter before turning into a smooth sauce. Add the whiskey and salt. Carefully pour the caramel into a heat-safe container and cool to room temperature. You will have about 1 1/2 cups.
• Make the buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, and whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Use the whisk attachment of the stand mixer to beat the egg white mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form and the mixture and bowl are cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and reduce speed to medium. With the mixer running, add the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time and beat the buttercream until smooth and fluffy. During this step, the buttercream will likely break and look curdled; turn up the speed on the mixer for a few seconds, and it will come back together. Continue until all of the butter is incorporated then add the salt. Slowly add 1/2 cup cooled caramel sauce, and stir until well combined. If the buttercream is extremely soft or runny, put the bowl in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, then whip until smooth.
• Assemble the cake: If necessary, use a serrated knife to trim the cooled cake layers so they are flat and even. Add a small spoonful of buttercream onto a cardboard cake round or serving plate, and place the first layer of cake, cut side up, on top.
• Spread about 3/4 cup buttercream on top of the cake. Drizzle the buttercream with 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce. Be careful not to drizzle the caramel all of the way to the edge so it doesn't spill out the sides.
• Place the second cake layer on top and repeat with buttercream and caramel. Place the final layer on top, cut side down, and spread the top and sides of the cake with a thin, even layer of buttercream. Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Spread the remaining buttercream in an even layer over the cake. If you'd like to add a caramel drizzle, refrigerate the fully frosted cake until firm then carefully spread about 1/3 cup of room temperature caramel sauce over the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to gently ease it towards the edges so it drips down the sides. Serve at room temperature. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving. Leftover caramel sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

CARAMEL CAKE FROSTING / ICING

Steps:

• Cook sugar and butter for two minutes.
• Stir in 1/4 cup milk.
• Bring to a boil; cool.
• Stir in 10x (confectioner's) sugar, until thick enough to spread.
• Makes enough for 2 large cake layers.

LAYER CAKE WITH CARAMEL FROSTING

Steps:

• For cake, cream together shortening and softened butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
• Add eggs and beat well.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt, and add dry ingredients alternately with milk (3 additions of dry, 2 of milk).
• Beat only until well blended but do not overbeat.
• Fold in vanilla extract.
• Pour into two well greased and floured 10 inch layer pans (or 3 9 inch pans) and bake in a preheated 350 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for about 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, turn cake pans upside down on counter on waxed paper.
• In a few minutes, remove pans from cake layers and let them cool completely before making the frosting.
• When cake layers have cooled, make frosting. Melt butter in a heavy pan over medium heat.
• Add brown sugar and continue cooking until it melts, stirring and watching carefully.
• After sugar is melted, add 1/3 cup milk and stir in well.
• Turn burner to medium high, and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Boil for at least one minute, but not more than two minutes.
• Remove from heat and pour over powdered sugar in a metal or heat proof bowl.
• Beat well for about 10 minutes, adding more milk as needed if mixture is too thick (it will set up and get thicker as it cools).
• Mix in vanilla extract.
• Fill and frost layers immediately before frosting sets and becomes very hard to spread.

CHOCOLATE SPICE LAYER CAKE WITH CARAMEL ICING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of two well-greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment paper; grease paper. In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool slightly., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in chocolate. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, spicy chocolate cinnamon sugar, salt, allspice and cloves; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition., Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, cream and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook and stir 3 minutes. Remove from heat; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla., Place one cake layer on a serving plate; pour half of the warm icing over the cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining icing over top of cake. If desired, top with caramel popcorn.