Southern Caramel Cake Recipe
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This Southern Caramel Cake Recipe is a traditional caramel cake made from an heirloom family recipe. It’s delicious topped with homemade caramel icing!
Southern Caramel Cake is one of those desserts that is a true labor of love. So rich and decadent, it’s a cake that surely takes any special occasion to a whole new level and is by far one of my family’s favorite cakes.
We celebrated two birthdays in my family this past weekend – Mama’s and my husband’s. I asked each of them what kind of cake they would like for their birthday and both of them replied, “Caramel Cake!” Any cake that is requested by multiple people in a family the size of mine for their birthday is definitely a cake to make sure you get just right.
It’s a cake to take pride in, even though mine is a far cry from decorator-perfect. Right down to the smudges on the rim of the cake plate. You can surely tell it’s homemade, can’t you?
How to Make Southern Caramel Cake
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
For the caramel cake, you’ll need butter, sugar, eggs, self-rising flour, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and a double recipe of my family’s Southern Caramel Icing.
Room Temperature Ingredients
Make sure your ingredients, especially butter, eggs, and buttermilk, are all at room temperature. This allows them to mix more fully into the cake batter.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three cake pans with butter and flour. Set aside.
Make the cake batter. Cream together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined after each egg. Add the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two and beginning and ending with the flour.
Bake the cake. Divide the cake batter between the three prepared cake pans and bake until the center springs back to a light touch and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. You may enjoy reading all of my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
Cool the layers. Remove the cake layers from the oven. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Make your caramel icing. This is when you’ll have time to make your caramel icing. I’ve previously posted the recipe for Southern Caramel Icing that I use.
Make this cake soon for someone you love, to celebrate something special, or just because. You won’t be sorry.
Southern Caramel Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (396 g) sugar
- 4 large (200 g) eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (360 g) self-rising flour
- 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) vanilla extract
- Southern Caramel Icing Recipe, double the recipe
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three cake pans with butter and flour. Set aside.
- Make the cake batter. Cream together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined after each egg. Add the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two and beginning and ending with the flour.
- Bake the cake. Divide the cake batter between the three prepared cake pans and bake until the center springs back to a light touch and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. You may enjoy reading all of my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
- Cool the layers. Remove the cake layers from the oven. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- Make the icing. Make double the original recipe for Southern Caramel Icing to have ample icing for this three layer cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
HI Robyn, I love the Carmel cake a lot of times when I put on the icing my cake splits what am I doing wrong?
Hi Phyllis,
I’m so glad that you love the caramel cake! Isn’t it amazing? One thing that I’ve found that causes cakes to split is if I have not allowed them to cool completely before I add my frosting or icing to the cake. xo
Thank you Robyn, how long should I wait?
Hi Phyllis,
You’ll want your layers to cool completely to the touch. I recommend letting them cool in the pans for just a bit and then turning them out onto wire racks to cool completely. This can take a while, so I generally just leave them while I do other things around the house and then come back to them for layering and frosting later.
This looks wonderful! I’d like to make this as a one-layer cake. What size pan and bake time would you suggest? Thanks!
When making caramel icing try boiling two cans of condense milk eagle brand for three to four hours. in a Dutch pot covered with water at all times and let cans cool completely and open them up and spread over cakes.
I made this cake, followed the instructions, this cake did not come out right! Very Dry!
Can you use a box cake mix?
Hi Wanda,
I don’t use box cake mixes. Thanks!
I made cake today three huge layers. I doubled the icing recipe bc the layers were so big. I boiled icing to 245 degrees but I best for 45 minutes and it never turned to caramel. If tastes like mashmallow cream. I’m so upset!
Hi Ann – I’ve never had to beat this icing that long. I’m am so sorry it didn’t turn out for you!
This cake looked good, but when sliced was so dry, all crumbs. I followed the recipe and cooking time exactly and don’t know what when wrong. The icing as many have said was a labor of love. It was delicious but as the icing continued to cool it became impossible to spread. I actually iced the sides with my fingers, first time I have ever done that. If you have any suggestions on what caused this cake to be so dry and how to maintain an icing consistency that can be spread easily please share.
Hi Lisa, I am so sorry your cake turned out dry for you. I know that can be frustrating. I’ve found sometimes if a cake is too dry, it could possibly be the flour. I use White Lily Flour, which has a similar consistency to cake flour.
As far as the icing getting hard to spread as it cooled, it sounds to me like it is possible that it was either cooked too long or beaten too long. I hope these tips help and that you enjoy it if you decide to bake it again. Thanks so much! xo
If I choose to use cake mix, what flavor would you suggest?
Hi June,
I have never used a cake mix for this cake, so the flavor would be your preference. I hope you will try this cake by this recipe sometime – it is delicious! Thanks so much! xo
A butter cake mix, or yellow cake mix, or sometimes you can actually find caramel cake mix is good with the frosting. The caramel frosting is so good I have had people request some to eat with a spoon. It does take awhile to make the frosting to heat it to the right point, but it is worth it.
I don’t have self rising flour , so I can use regular flour and how much baking soda or baking powder can I use. O yeah what about salt? Thanks
Hi Billie,
I have a recipe written for how to make your own self-rising flour for just such events!
There’s no caramel listed in the icing ingredients? Is this right?
Huh? Caramel is simply melted sugar and milk, heated until it caramelizes. So, yes there is caramel in the icing. Homemade caramel.
This is funny stuff