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An image of a cupcake in front of a jar of caramel sauce with caramel dripping off the frosting.
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5 from 2 votes

Salted Caramel Frosting

Elevate your favorite cupcakes to gourmet bakery status with a batch of this homemade salted caramel frosting. It meets all of your salty & sweet desires and is sure to make any dessert the hit of a bake sale, potluck, or party!
Prep Time8 minutes
Total Time8 minutes
Course: Frostings
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 cups of frosting
Author: Amy Nash

Equipment

Ingredients

Salted Caramel Frosting

  • 1 cup salted butter at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup [salted caramel sauce] homemade or storebought
  • Heavy cream or milk as needed

Instructions

  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk or paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until light, creamy, and smooth, about 4 minutes.
    1 cup salted butter
  • Add two cups of the powdered sugar and blend on low speed until the butter and powdered sugar come together. Add the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, and mix until combined.
    4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Add the caramel sauce and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy about 2-3 minutes.
    3/4 cup [salted caramel sauce]
  • Add additional heavy cream or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, only as needed to get the frosting to a nice pipeable consistency. You may not need any additional liquid (I usually don't, but if your caramel sauce is on the thicker side, you might).
    Heavy cream or milk

Notes

  • If a store-bought caramel sauce instead of salted caramel sauce, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon, then adjust from there.
  • This recipe makes enough frosting to pipe onto 14-16 cupcakes or frost a 2-layer cake. If spreading with a knife, you can cover 24 cupcakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 983kcal | Carbohydrates: 148g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 846mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 118g | Vitamin A: 1456IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

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