Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake

Buttery, rich, and decadent, this Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake is easy to make and guaranteed to please. A basic recipe structure yields a cake with the texture of pound cake that offers hints of luscious caramel flavor without being too sweet or overpowering.

Here, everything you need to know about making and serving this indulgent dessert.

What Is Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake?

A traditional Southern caramel cake is essentially a yellow cake, though we add rum extract to the batter to give it a bit more caramel-y flavor on its own.

What takes it from simple to special, and from yellow cake to caramel cake, is the Caramel Frosting. And while the cake batter comes together in a flash, the frosting is a bit more finicky; you have to make a caramel on the stove, constant stirring and candy thermometer and all, before beating it with a stand mixer until it reaches the consistency of spreadable frosting.

Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake Ingredients

Before you get to the frosting, there are a few ingredients you’ll need for the cake itself.

• Sour Cream and milk: Whenever there’s sour cream in a cake recipe, it’s a signal that the cake is going to extra moist and rich. We use it here, in addition to milk, to ensure the cake stands up to the Caramel Frosting.
• Butter, sugar, and eggs: You’ll find these staple cake ingredients in almost every batter.
• Flour, baking powder, and salt: Ditto these dry ingredients. No need to buy cake flour for this recipe; we prefer the all-purpose you already have on hand.
• Vanilla and rum extracts: Vanilla and rum extracts are added to the batter to further enhance the flavor of the cake and help it mesh with the powerfully sweet frosting. 

How To Frost Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake 

This part is super important: Your cake must be completely and utterly cool before you begin to frost it. If it’s even a little bit warm, the icing you worked so hard to make is going to slide right off the surface of your cake.

To be extra certain that your frosting won’t melt, you can even cool the cake layers completely, wrap them in plastic wrap, and chill them in the fridge for two hours before you begin to frost.

Once you’re certain your cake layers are cool, place a small dollop of frosting on your serving plate (to hold the cake in place) and place the first layer on top. Cover the top of the cake layer with frosting, then top with the second layer. Then use the rest of your Caramel Frosting to coat the top and sides of the cake.

How To Make Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake in Advance 

One way to ensure your frosting won’t melt, plus free up your oven on the day of your party or holiday gathering, is to bake your Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake up to a few weeks in advance and freeze the layers.

To do so, cool your cake completely, then wrap each layer in several pieces of plastic wrap followed by a piece of aluminum foil, and pop them in the freezer (don’t forget to label them!).

The day before you plan to serve the cake, transfer your cake layers to the fridge to thaw overnight, then move them to the counter to sit and come to room temperature as you make the frosting.

Editorial contributions by Alyssa Sybertz.