The Best Ever Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake- Dark chocolate cake layers filled with a homemade salted caramel sauce, frosted in a salted caramel buttercream.

Let’s transition into fall with my new Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake! Although I may not be ready for pumpkin quite yet, these dark chocolate cake layers will totally get me in the right mood for all fall related things! 

Here are some of my favorite fall recipes from last year: 

• Coconut Caramel Cake with Pecan Buttercream
• Pumpkin Vanilla Chai Cake
• Graham Cracker Cake with Cake Batter Buttercream

Ingredients List 

• Dark Cocoa Powder –I use half dark and half regular cocoa powder for this recipe. I get mine from Amazon. You can find it here: 
• Baking powder & baking soda-These ingredients give the cake its rise. I get a new container of each every month to make sure they are fresh. This guarantees I get a great rise on all of my cakes.
• Oil-I use vegetable oil.
• Eggs-I always make sure they are at room temperature when I start to bake by pulling them out of the fridge a couple hours before I need them. 
• Hot water- This helps the chocolate cocoa powder flavor really blossom.
• Cream-This is for the ganache. I use heavy whipping cream. 
• Corn Syrup- This will be used in the caramel. You don’t have to use it, but I highly recommend it to have a smooth and nice caramel. 

Why you will love this cake

• Moist chocolate cake-Who doesn’t love a moist high quality chocolate cake? These cake layers are incredibly moist because they are made with hot water which helps to really make the chocolate flavor blossom. I also used half dark chocolate and half regular which gives the cake more depth and flavor.
• Easy to make-This cake is easy to make and it’s so hard to mess up. All you have to do is mix all of the wet ingredients into the sifted dry ingredients and you’re ready to go! 
• Salted caramel- Who doesn’t love a good salted caramel filling and frosting? And nothing beats a homemade salted caramel! It will make your cake taste amazing. 
• The perfect dessert for any occasion- Whether this is a dessert for a special family get together, or just a weeknight treat, your family and friends will love eating this cake while discussing their favorite parts of summer. 
• Chocolate lovers paradise- Any chocolate lovers out there will love this dark chocolate cake made with dark cocoa powder. 

Step by step instructions

Here is how to make and bake this chocolate cake.

Step 1: Pull the wet ingredients-By that, I mean pull the eggs and buttermilk out of the fridge 2 hours before baking. Room temperature ingredients will give the cake a better rise.

Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients-In a bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Mix on the lowest speed, just until it’s all incorporated. 

Step 3: Mix the wet ingredients-In a separate bowl, mix together all of the wet ingredients (minus the hot water). Once mixed, very slowly add in the hot water. Go slow so the hot water doesn’t cook the eggs.

Step 4: Add in the wet ingredients-With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure it is all mixed in.

How to make the caramel sauce. 

Step 1: Mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and the corn syrup.

Step 2: Cook the mixture. On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.

Step 3: Let it boil. Let it boil until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown/auburn color. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.

Step 4: Heat the cream. Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.

Step 5: Add the cream. Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.

Step 6: Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts. Stir once the butter is melted.

Assembly 

Here are some of my favorite cake decorating equipment that will be helpful while decorating 

Turn table, offset spatula, cake scraper, cake leveler. 

• With a piping bag, pipe a small dollop of frosting onto a cake board. Place the first chocolate cake layer, top side up, onto the board.
• Evenly spread about ¼ cup of the caramel buttercream on top of the cake layer. 
• Pipe a rim of frosting around the edge of the buttercream to create a barrier for the filling.
• Spread about ¼ cup of the caramel sauce in the center of the cake. With the back of a spoon, carefully spread it to the edge of the piping.
• Place a second cake layer on top of the piped frosting and filling and repeat the steps for the first layer. Place the final cake layer, top side up, on the second layer of filling.
• Frost a thin coat of frosting around the cake to lock in the crumbs. This is the crumb coat. Freeze the cake for about 10 to 15 minutes to set the frosting.
• Finish frosting and decorating the cake with the remaining caramel buttercream. Serve with the remaining caramel sauce.

Expert baking tips

• Use high quality cake pans. This helps prevent your cake layers from browning on the sides. I always use Fat Daddios cake pans. You can find the ones I use here:
• I say this a lot because I think it’s really important… USE ROOM TEMP ingredients! Making sure all of your ingredients are the same temp is a must!
• To get a creamy and smooth buttercream, add a Tablespoon of whipping cream once you finish mixing the buttercream. Then beat by hand with a rubber spatula to get all the air bubbles out. 
• Do a crumb coat. Don’t skip this step. It helps secure the crumbs onto the cake and makes decorating easier.
• Preheat your oven 30 minutes before to ensure that your oven is hot and ready. 

FAQ

Can I make this into a sheet cake? 

Yes, this can be turned into a sheet cake, four 6-inch cake pans, or a 9×13 (if you do a 9×13, it will need to bake for 40-45 minutes).

Can these be made into cupcakes? 

YES! You just need to reduce the baking time to 23-27 minutes. 

Can I use store bought caramel? 

YES! Do whatever is easiest for you! 

Storing and freezing 

Store this Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. I would leave uneaten portions in the fridge and then bring them back to room temperature before serving. 

Freezing 

Freeze individual cake slices in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. 

If you love this recipe, please remember to rate and review it!

For more fun recipes, here are some of my favorites:

• The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gooey Cinnamon Roll Caramel Cake
• Famous Banana Caramel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies 

Recipe

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake

Molly Murphy

Dark chocolate cake layers filled with a homemade salted caramel sauce, frosted in a salted caramel buttercream.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the chocolate cake

• 3 eggs room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
• 1 cup hot water
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled.
• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• ¾ cup dark cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the caramel sauce

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons butter

For the caramel buttercream

• 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
• 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup caramel sauce from recipe above
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

For the cake

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper. Spray again. Set aside.
• In a stand sized mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low until evenly combined.
• In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, hot water, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil until evenly combined.
• With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. There should be no flour streaks. With a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure the batter is evenly combined.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepped pans (about 15 ounces in each 8 inch pan) and bake for 30-33 minutes. After they are done baking, let them cool for 15 minutes in the cake pans and then transfer them to a cooling rack and let them finishing cooling there.
• After the cakes have come to room temperature, level the tops of the cakes, if needed, and then wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them in preparation for frosting the cake.

For the caramel sauce.

• In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and corn syrup.
• On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
• Let the mixture boil until it becomes caramelized and looks golden brown. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.
• Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
• Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts. Stir once the butter is melted.

For the caramel buttercream

• In a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 4 minutes. It should soften a little, but also still be slightly stiff.
• Add the caramel sauce and mix on medium speed for 60 more seconds.
• Add the sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream. Mix on low. Once incorporated, beat on medium for 4-5 minutes.
• Before frosting your cake, use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to hand mix the frosting to push out any air bubbles.

Assembly

• With a piping bag, pipe a small dollop of frosting onto a cake board. Place the first chocolate cake layer, top side up, onto the board.
• Evenly spread about ¼ cup of the caramel buttercream on top of the cake layer.
• Pipe a rim of frosting around the edge of the buttercream to create a barrier for the filling.
• Spread about ¼ cup of the caramel sauce in the center of the cake. With the back of a spoon, carefully spread it to the edge of the piping.
• Place a second cake layer on top of the piped frosting and filling and repeat the steps for the first layer. Place the final cake layer, top side up, on the second layer of filling.
• Frost a thin coat of frosting around the cake to lock in the crumbs. This is the crumb coat. Freeze the cake for about 10 to 15 minutes to set the frosting.
• Finish frosting and decorating the cake with the remaining caramel buttercream. Serve with the remaining caramel sauce.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!