Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake is rich, gooey and delicious! The homemade salted caramel icing with a sprinkle of sea salt creates a cake your whole family will love!
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Why You'll Love This Cake
- Made From Scratch - totally homemade with great caramel flavor
- Special Recipe - perfect for holidays and a special occasion
- Great Flavor - moist chocolate cake topped with caramel frosting and sea salt is outrageously good
Recipe Highlights
I'm a salted caramel kind of girl. If you know me, you know it's one of my favorite flavor combinations. That's why I've created several recipes like Salted Caramel Sticky Buns, Caramel Apple Pecan Cobbler and Caramel Apple Cheese Pastry to name a few.
But, this cake is truly one of my favorite recipes. One bite and you'll understand why!
For starters, I use a favorite chocolate cake recipe that's fool-proof and delicious every single time. That's important, because you don't want to spend a lot of time and money on a cake unless it's going to be fabulous.
Next, I make an easy salted caramel icing which doesn't need a lot of time or a candy thermometer. That's important too, because when you want a slice of decadent cake...you want it NOW!
This salted caramel cake is a guaranteed WIN, which makes it the perfect birthday cake, holiday dessert, or cure for a chocolate caramel cake fix. Try this Chocolate Ricotta Cake if you're looking for something even more unique.
Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
Chocolate Cake
- sugar
- self-rising flour (see info below for substitutions)
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- butter
- vegetable oil
- water
- large eggs
- buttermilk
Salted Caramel Icing
- light brown sugar
- whole milk
- butter (room temperature)
- vanilla extract
- confectioner's sugar
- sea salt (or kosher salt)
- drizzle of store-bought caramel sauce (optional garnish)
How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake
Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add sugar, flour and cocoa. Stir and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, bring butter, oil and water to a boil over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Blend both together with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk together. Pour into contents in mixing bowl.
- Blend cake batter with an electric mixer for 1 minute on medium speed until combined.
- Pour batter into a 13 X 9 inch pan that has been greased and floured.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool cake on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
Icing Instructions
This icing is similar to a salted caramel buttercream, but it's thinner than normal cake frosting.
- Place brown sugar, milk and butter in a large saucepan. Turn the heat to medium and stir until mixture comes to a boil.
- Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk.
- Take mixture off of the stove and pour into a mixing bowl. Don't be tempted to leave it cooking longer or it may burn.
- Using a mixer on medium speed, blend in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla until no lumps are present.
- Mix on low for 3 minutes until icing begins to thicken. Scrape the sides of the bowl to get all of the lumps out of icing.
- Stir in salt and spread over cake before icing gets cold. It will harden once it sits at room temperature, or you can put it in the refrigerator if desired.
- Drizzle cake with store bought caramel sauce to garnish if desired. (optional)
What's a Substitute for Self-Rising Flour?
If you don't have self-rising flour in your location, substitute the following ingredients for self rising flour in this recipe.
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Top Tips
- The drizzle of caramel on top of the icing is totally optional. This cake is plenty sweet without it, and doesn't need anything extra. But, you can use it if you like the way it looks.
- You can also leave out the sea salt if you only want homemade caramel icing on top of the cake.
- For best results, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the icing once you've added the powdered sugar. Otherwise, it will be lumpy.
What's the Difference Between Frosting and Icing?
Icing is similar to a glaze, which means it isn't fluffy or rigid like what you would find on a cupcake. Icing usually starts out thin and thickens upon cooling. That's why it's great for bundt cakes or drizzling on a salted caramel sheet cake.
Frosting has more substance, and can rise really high like you see on a carrot cake, or be spread very thin and still keep its shape. It's usually made with cream cheese or butter, and can be used as a filling since it's thick and spreads easily.
Recipe FAQS
I have tested this icing multiple times and if you use whole milk it will be smoother and not grainy. If you use another product, such as sweetened condensed milk, the sugar does not melt properly and you will be disappointed in the results.
Adding more confectioner's sugar (a little at a time) will thicken icing. Keep in mind that the icing will thicken nicely when it cools. If you want it to be more of a frosting consistency, add more confectioner's sugar.
This chocolate cake is made with self-rising flour which already has baking soda in it. If you don't have self-rising flour, you can use all purpose flour. But be sure to add 1 Tablespoon of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of all-purpose flour or your cake won't rise.
Storage and Freezing
Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If freezing cake, wrap pieces individually and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw cake in the refrigerator overnight for best results.
Serving Suggestions
In my opinion, there's nothing better than a slice of salted caramel chocolate cake with a big 'ol cup of hot coffee. They go together like peas and carrots!
Or pair it with this delicious Caramel Craze Iced Latte Recipe for a real treat!
This cake is perfect as a fall dessert, and will be gobbled up on Thanksgiving Day along with the pumpkin pie and pecan cobbler!
More Great Cakes
If you're looking for a recipe for a beautiful layer cake that tastes as good as it looks, try this delicious Chocolate Orange Cake.
Here are a few more great sheet cakes from my dessert collection...
Recipe Card
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
SALTED CARAMEL FROSTING
- 2 cups light brown sugar (tightly packed)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)
- 3 Tablespoons store-bought caramel sauce (optional garnish)
Instructions
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, add sugar, flour and cocoa. Stir and set aside.
- Boil butter, oil and water in a saucepan for 1 minute.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Blend both together with a mixer on medium speed for 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk together. Pour into contents in mixing bowl.
- Blend batter with a mixer for 1 minute on medium speed until combined.
- Pour batter into a 13 X 9 inch greased and floured pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
SALTED CARAMEL ICING
- Place brown sugar, milk and butter in a large saucepan. Turn the heat to medium and stir until mixture comes to a boil.
- Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk.
- Take mixture off of the stove and pour into a mixing bowl.
- Using a mixer on medium speed, blend in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla until no lumps are present.
- Mix on low for 3 minutes until icing begins to thicken.
- Stir in salt and spread over cake before icing gets cold. It will harden once it sits at room temperature, or you can put it in the refrigerator to cool.
- Drizzle cake with store bought caramel sauce to garnish if desired. (optional)
Notes
- If you don't have self-rising flour, substitute 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt for the flour in this recipe.
- The caramel drizzle on top of the icing is totally optional. This cake is plenty sweet without it, and doesn't need anything extra. But, you can use it if you like the way it looks.
- You can also leave out the sea salt if you only want homemade caramel icing on top of the cake.
- For best results, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the icing once you've added the powdered sugar. Otherwise, it will be lumpy.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
Tried this Recipe and Loved It? ❤️ Please scroll down and leave a *STAR* review!
Salted caramel with almost anything - but mostly cake and ice-cream - oh it's so incredibly delicious.
This looks like a winner! I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks so much Lorna!
Wow! This cake looks absolutely amazing! I can't wait to make it for our Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for another great recipe.