This Southern Caramel Cake recipe is made with layers of homemade moist yellow cake with a luscious thick caramel icing made from scratch! It's rich and delicious and perfect for any special occasion!
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When it comes to a traditional caramel cake, the real star of the show is the decadent caramel icing that is cooked on the stovetop to slowly caramelize the sugars and evaporated milk. Shortcut versions use brown sugar and powdered sugar to mimic the result, but they just aren't the same as the real thing. This is the best caramel cake because it's made the old-fashioned way from scratch!
The homemade caramel icing is used to fill layers of tender yellow cake before pouring the rest over the top of the cake and frosting the sides with rustic, smooth swirls. No need to worry about fancy decorating or piping with this southern cake!
This cake is definitely a labor of love, but the end result is worth it, especially for caramel lovers, and the frosting is easier than it sounds.
If you haven't had a classic caramel cake before, there's a good chance you might have already heard of it. This traditional southern caramel cake has had a resurgence in its popularity ever since the bestselling novel "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett was released in 2009, followed by the movie adaptation in 2011.
The movie is set in Jackson, Mississippi and one of the main characters, a maid named Minny, famously makes her award-winning caramel cake more than once throughout the book. It's true that homemade caramel cake is very popular in the South and it's easy to see why!
What You'll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Flour - Regular all-purpose flour works just great for this cake, although you could substitute cake flour instead if you prefer.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar is used in both the cake and the caramel icing.
- Salted butter
- Eggs
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Milk
- Evaporated milk - You can use heavy cream, half-and-half or even whole milk to make the caramel icing, but evaporated milk gives the richest, best flavor in our experience.
- Sour cream - This is the secret to super moist cake layers.
How to Make Caramel Cake
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy and light. Stop and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until creamy.
- Alternate adding wet and dry ingredients. Add ½ of the flour along with the baking powder and salt, then mix on low speed just until the batter starts to come together. Add half of the sour cream and milk, then mix again just until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl so everything is evenly combined.
- Bake. Divide the caramel cake batter evenly between two 9-inch cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper circles or sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake layers comes out clean. Do not overbake or the cake will be dry.
- Cool. Let the cake layers cool for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Level off the top of the cake layers with a cake leveler or serrated knife, if needed.
- Cook frosting. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Cook and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted completely. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the icing reaches 240 degrees F. This is a long, slow process that may take up to 2 hours, but you don't need to stand by the stove the whole time. Just clip a candy thermometer (affiliate link) to the side of the pot and make sure to stir the icing every so often so it isn't burning on the bottom.
- Cool icing, then beat until thick. Although the caramel icing will thicken considerably on its own while it cooks, you should let it cool for a bit before adding to your cake layers or a lot of it will run off. After letting it cool for 20 to 25 minutes, you can beat the icing either in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or by hand using a sturdy wooden spoon until it thickens even more. This process helps cool the icing even further, while thickening it to a nice spreading consistency.
The caramel icing isn't difficult to make, but it does take time for the sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to caramelize and achieve that deep caramel flavor. I like to make it when I know I will be around the house for a couple of hours and can check on it every 10-15 minutes or so to give it a stir and monitor it's progress toward soft ball stage (240°F).
- Assembly. Level off your cake tops if you haven't already, then place your bottom cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Pour some of the caramel icing over the first layer and spread it out with a knife.
- Finish. Place the top layer of cake onto the caramel layer, then pour the rest of the frosting right onto the top of the cake. Use a knife to gently nudge the thick caramel icing to the edges of the cake. Spread it around the sides of the cake with rustic swooshes, then refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes to help the icing set up before serving.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, if you would like, you can either bake 3 thinner layers of cake or use a serrated knife to cut the two thick layers of cake into 4 layers, if you prefer. There should be enough icing to cover and fill a 3 layer cake, but if planning on 4 layers I would recommend making 1.5x the frosting recipe.
Absolutely! I would recommend adding 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the yellow cake batter.
Tips for Success
- Use room temperature ingredients. It makes a difference using room temperature butter, eggs, sour cream, and milk when baking cake layers. They will mix and bake more evenly and you will have flatter layers than if your ingredients are cold straight out of the fridge.
- Beating the icing. Don't go too far when beating the icing or it will cease to be pourable and can thicken into more of a frosting. It will still be delicious and you can thin the icing back out with a little milk if you go too far, but it's easy to get carried away, especially if you decided to transfer the hot caramel icing to a stand mixer.
- Prepared cake pans. I like to line my round cake pans with parchment paper circles on the bottom to make sure the cake doesn't stick. When the cake layers are done baking, You can just turn them out onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper.
Storage Instructions
Keep any uneaten cake covered in an airtight container or with a glass cake dome on a cake plate to prevent the sliced cake from drying out.
You can wrap individual slices of cake with plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months. Just thaw on the counter for a couple of hours before enjoying.
More Cake Recipes
- Coca Cola Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake
- Oreo Cookies & Cream Cake
- San Jose Burnt Almond Cake
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Southern Caramel Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g) or 3 ¼ cups cake flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
For the Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter, cubed
- 3 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles and spray with baking spray.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt alternately with sour cream and milk.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (Or bake in 3 pans for 23-30 minutes.)
For the Frosting
- Combine butter, sugar, and evaporated milk in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn, until the mixture reaches 240°F (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer (affiliate link) clipped to the side of the pan. It should have thickened and turned a beautiful caramel brown color.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let the caramel icing cool for about 20 to 25 minutes before icing the cake so it can set up more. To thicken it even more, you can beat it with a sturdy wooden spoon for 20 to 25 minutes until it reaches a glossy, smooth, thick consistency that is spreadable or you can actually transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and beat with the paddle attachment for more of a frosting than a caramel icing. If the icing gets too thick, add just enough milk to make it spreadable again.
- Frost the cake layers with the caramel icing, then chill to set.
Notes
- Storage: This cake will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also refrigerate it for 5-7 days, but plan ahead so it can come to room temperature before serving, otherwise the slices will taste stale.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Saveur.
LOVED the simplicity of this cake!! Thanks for such a detailed and delish recipe!
Thank you! It was a fun one to make!
Caramel cake is one of my favorites and this recipe does not disappoint! The flavor is really lovely, and it was so easy to make.
Thank you Megan!
Made this cake for my son's birthday, he adores caramel anything! I had forgotten it was such an iconic cake in The Help (fabulous story and movie). Thanks for an amazing recipe Amy!
Thanks Kathleen!
Hello, first I just want to say thank you Amy for this amazing carmel cake recipe. I have 1 question for you. What would be a good price to sell this cake to potential customers?
Hi Samiya! Oh gosh, I have never sold cakes so it's so hard for me to say! From some baking groups I have been in on Facebook, I would say it depends on your market, but definitely don't sell yourself short. There's a lot that goes into a homemade cake like this both in terms of time, talent, and ingredients!
It says to add the rum extract, don't see it in the recipe.
Sorry about that typo! I ended up leaving out the rum extract because I didn't feel like it added much after all, but you could add 1 teaspoon along with the vanilla extract if you would like.
Unfortunately, I did not have success with this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly for the sponges and they were awful. My intuition told me that 1 tablespoon of baking powder was too much but, followed the recipe anyway. My sponges initially rose very high in the over then one began to fall. It fell even more once I took it out of the oven. However, I felt that I could salvage it all since the other sponge had not fallen. As I waited for the sponges, the second sponge fell and I found myself with 2 very sweet pancakes! I never made it to the frosting because I threw out the sponges. I tried a different recipe that called for 1 teaspoon of baking powder and the sponges came out perfect. I think that this recipe needs to be adjusted because it's too much sugar for the sponges and way too much baking powder.
The cake came out perfect, but thw caramel icing is thin....and I don't know how to thicken it up.....any suggestions?
This icing recipe is a 10! After three other attempts, this one is by far the winner! Perfect texture, perfect flavor!
Oh wow! Thank you! Caramel lovers unite! I love this cake and glad you enjoyed it!
My grandma passed down a family recipe for carmel frosting (we don’t use the proper spelling). Same ingredients, different measurements, way less time. I thought my gram had me standing forever but 1-2hr?! Geesh
Can you share her recipe ?
Hi I made your Carmel Cake The frosting I had done problem but it turn out
Hi, my icing is not homogenous can you give me some tips? It looks like clumpy diseased brown sand in butter. What did I do wrong?
I’m about to make this cake for my husband’s birthday. Instead of doing a layer cake could I do a 9X13 cake pan?
Yes, absolutely!
Do you know how many cupcakes this recipe will yield? Thank you!
Around 2 dozen.
Do you think the recipe is enough to use as both filling and frosting?
Yes, it's the perfect amount for filling and frosting this cake just as you see here.
The cake batter is amazing. I trusted the process and it came out beautifully.
Oh good! I am glad!