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.
It sounds like you had fun making it! I haven’t been up long and I could eat a huge piece of this for breakfast.
You are so right, Helena! It is always one of my favorite things to make for my family.
Hi
I made this cake tonight. I am always layer cake challenged, this was no exception. With the “help” of the frostings consistency, I was able to glue it all together again and make it look like a decent cake! I didn’t have enough white sugar so I used half brown sugar. My frosting is much darker in color, but tastes pretty darn good.
I had trouble remembering about the “soft ball” test method. It cooked on the stove for much longer than I expected, and I don’t have a candy thermometer so it was a guess. When I dropped the caramel into cold water, it did ball. When pouring off the water, the caramel on the bottom seemed the right consistency, so I took it off the stove.
We are having the kids over for a “pinterst dinner” tonight, we shall see what they all think.
The entree will be the Bruschetta Chicken Bake Wish me luck.
Also, do you store this cake at room temperature overnight? or in the fridge ? Thanks
Hi Judi, I’m so glad you loved my cake! It sounds like you had fun making it! I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we always do! I store at room temperature on a covered cake plate!
I made this yesterday. I didnt scroll down about whipping the icing so I did it by hand the best I could. same tasty outcome….thanks for the recipe.
My grandmother always had a caramel cake waiting on us when we visited. I was so excited to see this recipe, and can’t wait to make it!
This caramel cake looks just like the ones my grandmother used to make. I was always intimidated by the cooked caramel icing but I’ve got to try it.
I can’t wait to try this cake out. I just love caramel!
I have never made caramel cake but I love to eat it! My favorite cake for my birthday is funfetti.
My husband’s birthday is this week and I’m awfully tempted to make this for him. Yum!
I don’t think you need cake decorating classes your cake looks both SUPER YUMMY and GORGEOUS! 🙂
I want to dip my finger into that caramel icing! 🙂
Be still my heart – oh my this cake… this glorious looking cake!