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Southern Caramel Cake 

Southern Caramel Cake will make any occasion memorable. Completely made from scratch and worth all of the effort. Super moist white cake filled with the most luscious homemade caramel and topped with fluffy whipped cream. This is the ultimate celebration cake!
Author: Lora

Ingredients

  • CAKE
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 4 large egg whites room temperature
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups sifted flour
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter cut into tablespoons softened
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • CARAMEL
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 stick unsalted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • tablespoons powdered sugar.

Instructions

  • WHIPPED CREAM
  • In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. Keep chilled until ready to spread on the cake
  • CAKE
  • Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter three 8-inch cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and flour the pans, tapping out the excess.
  • In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the milk with the egg whites and vanilla extract. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of milk. Beat at low speed until blended, then beat at medium speed until smooth, 1 minute. Beat in the egg white mixture in 3 batches.
  • In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Stir one-third of the whipped cream into the batter, then fold in the rest. Divide the batter between the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Unmold the cakes and peel off the parchment. Invert the cakes and let cool completely.
  • CARAMEL
  • In a saucepan, stir 2 1/2 cups of the sugar with the corn syrup and milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Keep warm.
  • Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a deep, heavy saucepan. Cook the sugar over moderate heat, swirling occasionally, until an amber caramel forms. Carefully pour the warm milk mixture over the caramel. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the caramel dissolves. Stop stirring and cook until the caramel registers 235° on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream. Strain the caramel into the bowl of a standing mixer. Let cool for 15 minutes.
  • Beat the caramel at medium speed, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, until creamy, about 15 minutes.
  • Set 1 cake layer on a plate. Pour enough icing over the layer to cover the top. Top with a second cake layer and cover it with icing. Add the final cake layer. Spread the whipped cream around the sides and top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the icing gently around the cake. If you like, decorate the top with some fresh berries. Chill for an hour and then serve.

Notes

*I only used 2 cake pans. I sliced the cakes in the middle. If you use 3 cake pans, your cake will be much higher.The kids ended up eating the extra caramel on one of the extra cake layers while they were waiting for me to decorate and chill the cake.
*I didn’t end up using all of the caramel from the recipe as I had made whipped cream instead to decorate the top and sides. If you would like to use caramel to decorate the entire cake, there should be enough with the recipe above for the whole cake.
*If you choose to decorate the cake top and sides with caramel, work quickly when you spread
it with the offset spatula. *I smoothed off the top of the cake. I cut it off carefully and blended it in the food processor. Those are the crumbs you see around the sides of the cake. I did that so the cake would be more even.