This indulgent caramel cake is surely the cake of your dreams!! it's a moist and soft three layered vanilla cake, filled and frosted with layers of caramel sauce and salted caramel buttercream. On the top we have gorgeous drips of salted caramel sauce and some buttercream swirls. It's rich and DELICIOUS!! The best for special occasions and parties! Get perfect cake every time you make it.

Caramel Drip Cake

So excited to share this extremely rich and drool-worthy caramel cake recipe! It consists of three layers of moist and fluffy vanilla cake, filled and frosted with salted caramel buttercream and salted caramel sauce. Then on the top we have gorgeous drips of salted caramel sauce and the most marvellous buttercream swirls ever. It has the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness that you need! Surely worth falling in love with! 🤭

This Caramel Drip Cake consists of three components:

1. Vanilla Cake: Moist and soft buttermilk vanilla cake is the best for this caramel cake!
2. Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce: Homemade is the best. AND It’s very easy to make at home. But you can also use store-bought.
3. Caramel buttercream: Make vanilla buttercream, add caramel sauce and you are done. It’s very light, creamy and perfect for this cake.
   

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Ingredients for vanilla cake

Get the most perfect, fluffiest and light vanilla cake every time you make it

• All purpose flour
• vanilla extract
• unsalted butter (Softened to room temperature )
• Cooking oil
• caster sugar
• Eggs at room temperature
• Baking powder
• Pink salt (Himalayan salt) or table salt
• butter milk

To Make Soft Vanilla Cake

1. All ingredients should be at room temperature.
2. Sift all purpose flour + salt+ baking powder, set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar on medium for 2minutes, add in vanilla, oil beat for 1 minute, add 2 eggs (one at a time), beat after each addition, make sure to scrape the bowl so the butter gets well mixed in.
4. Beat the batter until light and fluffy(approx.2 minutes).
5. Add in dry ingredients and butter milk-alternate these 2 ingredients, start with dry ingredients and end on dry ingredients .
6. Pour batter in prepared cake pan ( grease and line 8” round cake pan with parchment paper)
7. Tap cake pan gently to remove air bubbles.
8. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes in the pre heated oven at 165*C(329*F) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, leave on a wire rack to cool completely.
   

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Ingredients for Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

This home-made salted caramel sauce is very easy to make and requires no thermometer.

• Granulated sugar: When sugar caramelises, it gives signature colour and flavour to the caramel sauce.
• Water: Add some water to the sugar in the beginning, it helps the sugar to dissolve easily and prevents it from burning. Water also helps in even heat distribution.
• Heavy cream/double cream: Cream keeps the caramel silky and smooth. Always use warm cream because cold cream causes the hot sugar to clump.
• Unsalted butter: Butter makes sauce rich, creamy and flavourful. Always use good quality butter.
• Pink Himalayan salt/or table salt: Pink salt is the best but if you don’t have, use table salt. Salt balances the sweetness because this caramel sauce is very sweet.
• Vanilla extract: Add flavour to the caramel sauce.
  

To Make Salted Caramel Sauce

1. Put sugar into a deep heavy-bottom saucepan. Pour water over it, then let it sit at least for 1-2 minutes before cooking as it helps the sugar to dissolve.
2. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved (don’t stir)
3. Use a wet pastry brush to gently wipe any sugar crystals off the side of the pan to prevent crystallisation.
4. Once the all sugar is dissolved, put a lid on your saucepan and cover the pot with a lid for 3-5 minutes or until the sugar starts to change its colour. This helps to dissolve the sugar crystals on the side of the pan (This step prevents your caramel from crystallisation).
5. When sugar starts bubbling, Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook. A glass lid is excellent because you can see the development of your caramel, just take a peek after every minute and keep peeking shortly thereafter (don’t stir, instead gently swirl the pan occasionally.
6. When sugar starts to change its colour(amber), you can take the lid off completely.
7. Let syrup boil at medium heat until it turns into a deep amber colour with few wisps of smoke, (don’t stir, gently swirl your pan occasionally) then Immediately remove the pan from heat.
8. Carefully add warm double cream and whisk carefully as the mixture will bubble up and can splutter, add butter, vanilla extract and salt. Stir until smooth.
9. Put it back on low heat for 30 sec. Keep stirring until caramel is smooth (approx.time for entire process is 10 minutes)
10. You can pass the caramel through a strainer to remove any lumps of sugar.
11. Let it cool, then transfer to an air tight container. Store for up to 1 month in the fridge.
12. It will thicken more as it cools.
13. Caramel solidifies in fridge. Reheat it in a microwave for few seconds.

To get the PERFECT homemade Salted Caramel Sauce with all the tips and tricks, you can check out our blog post for homemade salted caramel sauce or just click here!

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Ingredients for Caramel Buttercream

• unsalted butter
• Icing sugar (or powdered sugar) sifted
• Pink Himalayan salt/table salt
• whole milk
• Salted caramel sauce

To make Salted Caramel Buttercream

1. In the large bowl, beat the butter for 1 minute, add the icing sugar in three batches, beat after each addition, gradually add vanilla extract, salt, milk (according to the required consistency) and beat until it is well combined (3-4 minutes), scraping the bowl down several times so the butter gets well mixed in.
2. Add 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp salted caramel sauce (at room temperature) and mix to combine, beat for one minute until light and fluffy.
3. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag snd set aside.
   

How To Assemble the Cake?

1. Salted caramel sauce should be at room temperature, if it is thick heat in a microwave for 5-10 seconds, if it is hot just keep in the fridge for few minutes.
2. Place the first cake on a cake stand, soak with sugar syrup, then frost the cake with a layer of the buttercream, then drizzle caramel.
3. Place the second layer of cake on top and repeat the same.Place the third layer of cake on top, frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, keep in the fridge for 30 minutes to set the coating.
4. Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, smooth the top by pallet knife and the sides by bench scraper.
5. To make frosting smooth, fill a large vessel or bowl with hot water, dip your pallet knife or bench scraper into the water then pat it dry and gently smooth out the frosting(as shown in the video).
6. keep it in the fridge for 15-30minutes.
7. Take salted caramel, if it has cooled too much reheat it again for 5 seconds or if it is hot just wait for 5-10 minutes, fill a bottle with the sauce, apply this drip around the cake.Start from the back to check the exact consistency of caramel then apply around the cake, spread on top and make it fine with pallet knife.
8. Decorate your cake with any design on top with caramel buttercream (I used1 M nozzle)
9. Refrigerate your cake for at least 1 hr before slicing.
   

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Recipe Tips for perfect caramel drip cake

• Use high quality ingredients.
• Make sure you use good quality unsalted butter and pure vanilla extract.
• You can make the salted caramel sauce ahead of time. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge. It will thicken more as it cools. You can reheat it in a microwave for few seconds before making drip on cake otherwise for making frosting and layering the cake, cool caramel will work best.
• Chill the cake before assembling
• Bake the three cakes a day before, wrap in the plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. Cold cakes are easy to assemble and prevent crumbling (I made 3 layers separately by multiplying this quantity 3 times).
• Make the buttercream when you are ready to assemble the cake layers.
• To make smooth and silky buttercream, first cream the butter (softened) then add icing sugar (sifted) in 2-3 batches. Use whole milk to smooth it out. Add caramel sauce and beat until light and fluffy. Caramel sauce should be at room temperature before adding in the buttercream.

Happy Baking!