Southern Caramel Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is caramel cake made of? ›

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.

Evaporation: Caramel sauce contains water, either from the initial sugar-water mixture or from added cream or butter. As the sauce cools, some of this water evaporates, concentrating the sugar and other flavor compounds. This concentration of sugars contributes to the thickening of the sauce.

The Duncan Hines Caramel Cake Mix is AWESOME as a base for cakes.

Ingredients for Homemade Caramel Frosting

Granulated sugar: You can't have caramel without sugar. As the sugar cooks, it caramelizes and deepens, providing an irresistible flavor. All-purpose flour: Helps thicken the frosting. Whole milk: Helps thin the hot caramel for a smooth consistency.

Butterscotch vs Caramel

The difference between butterscotch and caramel is that caramel is made with white granulated sugar and cooked to 340 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas butterscotch is made with brown sugar and cooked to 289 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brown sugar.

I looooove adding brown sugar to caramels because it keeps them incredibly soft and chewy. This is because brown sugar has a lot of moisture.

If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough. Again place the caramel back into a sauce pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to 244°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test with a cold water test.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

This is considered one of the very difficult methods for making buttercream because the sugar syrup must be cooked to a specific temperature and then, while piping hot, poured into the whipped egg whites.

I'm a baker and I made white cake using boxed mixes from Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, and Betty Crocker. The Duncan Hines cake was moist, not overly sweet, and the fluffiest of the three. The cakes from Pillsbury and Betty Crocker were good, too, but I had a few minor issues with them.

Verdict: With a moist, flavorful, and consistent result, the Duncan Hines mix takes the cake.

Can I use milk instead of water in Duncan Hines cake mix? ›

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

Too short of a cooling time: Caramel sauce thickens significantly as it cools, so let the caramel cool for the appropriate time to achieve the right thickness. If the sauce is still too thin after cooling completely, place it back on the stovetop and reheat it on low heat for a few additional minutes.

Troubleshooting Runny Caramel Frosting

Let your caramel cool completely after cooking; it shouldn't be at all warm when you add it to your butter mixture! Be mindful of humidity; if you live in a particularly humid environment, you may need to cook your caramel a bit longer.

Most of the time, people cook caramel by heating up regular or brown sugar until it turns into a smooth and creamy substance. However, you can also make caramel out of sweetened condensed milk, creating the same great sauce with a unique, extra-sweet kick.

Ok you may not have known this but, ~newsflash~ caramel is literally just cooked sugar with a little bit of butter (for stability) and heavy cream (for flavor & mouthfeel) stirred in at the end. The longest (and “hardest”) part of making caramel is just toasting and melting down the sugar at the very beginning.

Caramel is, simply, burned sugar. We want to let it melt, darken to an amber color and take on a deep and bittersweet flavor. The best, most flavorful caramel starts with this step. You can caramelize sugar two ways— with the dry method or wet method.

The most common ways to use caramel include topping ice cream sundaes, apples, and some pies. It is sometimes made into soft, chewy candies or drizzled over popcorn. Caramel is often made into bars, cookies, cakes, and pies. Caramel pairs well with chocolate, like in millionaire's shortbread, and vanilla flavors.