Yellow Cake with Caramel Buttercream

This Yellow Cake with Caramel Buttercream is a moist, buttery classic layered with silky caramel frosting and a drizzle of caramel sauce. The perfect celebration cake for caramel lovers.

I have a thing about knowing people’s favorite flavors. It feels like a little window into who someone is, and it means that when a birthday rolls around, I know exactly what to make. For my Aunt Lori, that’s always been some combination of vanilla, caramel, and s’mores. This caramel buttercream cake was made with her in mind, and it delivers on everything she loves. A moist, buttery yellow cake layered with silky caramel buttercream, a drizzle of caramel tucked between the layers, and more caramel poured over the top. Simple, classic, and exactly the kind of cake that makes people feel celebrated.

Why We Love This Caramel Buttercream Cake

• The yellow cake is a reliable classic. Simple ingredients, nothing unusual, and it bakes up moist and buttery every time. It’s the kind of base that works with just about any frosting, but it really shines paired with caramel.
• The caramel buttercream is the star. It starts with a simple white buttercream, then caramel sauce is folded in for a smooth, fluffy, deeply caramelly frosting.
• Caramel three ways. There’s caramel in the buttercream, a thin layer of caramel spread between the cake layers, and a drizzle over the top. You get it in every single bite.
• It’s easy to customize. Use your favorite store-bought caramel sauce (Trader Joe’s salted caramel works beautifully here) or a homemade version if you want to go all out.

Tips for Success

• Whip the butter long enough. For the buttercream, whipping the butter for a full 8 minutes before adding anything else is what gives it that ultra-light, creamy texture. Don’t rush this step.
• Use the buttercream right away. This frosting is at its best and most spreadable right after it’s made. If it sits too long and stiffens up, a quick mix will bring it back.
• Let the caramel drizzle cool slightly before pouring. If it’s too hot it will melt into the frosting. Give it a few minutes to cool to a pourable but not steaming consistency before drizzling over the frosted cake.
• Refrigerate until serving. Because of the caramel and butter content, this cake holds up best kept in the fridge and brought to room temperature for about 20 minutes before slicing.

Ingredients and What They Do

This is a simple recipe with no unusual ingredients, which is part of what makes it so great. Here’s what goes into it:

For the yellow cake: butter and sugar creamed together until fluffy, eggs added one at a time for structure, flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. The milk keeps the crumb moist and tender, and the generous amount of butter gives the yellow cake its signature rich, slightly dense texture that holds up beautifully under a thick layer of frosting.

For the caramel buttercream: butter whipped until pale and creamy, powdered sugar, a splash of cream, vanilla, and caramel sauce. That’s it. The caramel sauce does all the heavy lifting flavor-wise, so the quality of your caramel matters here. A good salted caramel sauce adds a nice contrast to the sweetness of the buttercream, taking the whole frosting to another level.

For assembly: an extra quarter cup of caramel sauce spread between the layers and drizzled over the top. It sounds simple, but it makes the cake look beautiful and ensures you get caramel flavor in every single bite.

Questions you might have…

Can I make this cake ahead of time? Yes! The cake layers can be baked up to 2 days in advance, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and stored at room temperature. The buttercream can also be made a day ahead and refrigerated — just bring it to room temperature and give it a quick mix before using.

Can I use store-bought caramel sauce? Absolutely. Trader Joe’s salted caramel sauce is a personal favorite here and works perfectly. Any good-quality jarred caramel sauce will do the job. If you want to make your own, a simple homemade caramel sauce works beautifully too.

Can I make this as a three-layer cake? Yes! You can double the batter to fill three 8-inch pans. You’ll also want to slightly scale up the buttercream to ensure you have enough to frost all three layers generously.

How do I store leftovers? Keep the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Bring individual slices to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.

Rachel Conners

Caramel Layer Cake

No ratings yet

Meet the birthday cake I keep coming back to. A buttery yellow cake with silky caramel buttercream and caramel tucked into every layer. It's simple, classic, and absolutely irresistible.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 35 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

 

½x1x2x

For the cake

• ▢ 2 cups white sugar
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 cups (12.75 oz.) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 1/4 cup milk, I used 2%

For the buttercream

• ▢ 3 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• ▢ 3 tablespoons milk or cream
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 cup caramel sauce, + 1/4 cup for assembly, homemade or store bought is fine

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8″ or 9″ inch round cake pans.
• In a medium bowl or stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding the next, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Fold into the batter until completely combined. Stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour batter equally into the prepared pans.
  2 cups white sugar, 1 cup unsalted butter, 4 eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 3 cups (12.75 oz.) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 cup milk
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

For the buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes. Butter will become very pale & creamy.
  3 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Add remaining ingredients except caramel and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium for 4 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy and fluffy. Add the caramel and mix for another 2 minutes.
  3 cups confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons milk or cream, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup caramel sauce
• Best used right away (for ideal spreading consistency).

For assembly

• Place a small dollop of frosting in the center of your serving plate or a cake board, and place the bottom cake layer on top.
• Spread the reserved 1/4 cup of caramel over the top of the cake layer. Spread 1 cup of frosting on top of the caramel and spread evenly.
• Place 2nd cake layer face-down on top. Place a generous scoop of frosting on top, and frost however desired! For this cake, I just dolloped the frosting around and swirled it with the edge of a rubber spatula. Feel free to frost however you like best.
• If desired, drizzle caramel over the top of the frosted cake. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Did you make this recipe?Please consider Leaving a star rating and review!