Salted Caramel Drip Cake!
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A delicious, dreamy, sweet & salty cake that everyone will enjoy. A salted caramel drip cake to beat all others, the true showstopper!
Recently I was asked to make my friends birthday cake, so I had to oblige.. I mean, it was just so difficult to bake a cake that was damn delicious and then eat a majority of it. But anyway, she let me make a recipe out of it, so we had a great deal going on!
I didn’t know what flavour to use, but then I remembered she has an obsession with all things salted caramel, so this was obviously going to be the flavour.
The cake
I used the same cake recipe that I have used a few times now, such as in my Caramac Cake, and my Biscoff Cake. Using the light brown sugar in the cake sponge gives it a natural caramel flavour, and also keeps the sponge so moist and delicious.
As this cake is a 400g mix, I bake mine into three layers as I find this easiest. I creates a good depth of sponge, that is perfect for a cake like this. However, you can make it a 500g mix like my other sponges (Kinder bueno drip cake) and bake into two tins to create a four layer cake!
- Butter – for the cake you can get away with using a baking spread or a room temperature block butter – both work well for sponges!
- Sugar – as mentioned above, I love using light brown sugar for a cake like this, but caster sugar, golden caster sugar or dark brown sugar works well also.
- Flour – My most used flour in my kitchen, self-raising flour, is the ideal for this cake. However, if you need to make your own you can using plain flour and baking powder. Whisk 2 level tsps of baking powder per 150g of plain flour, before using (And remove any extra raising agents in the recipe!).
- Eggs – Medium as always guys…!
- Baking Powder – This is an optional ingredient. Some people disagree with using it as self raising flour already has some help, but as long as you don’t over measure it can really lighten the texture perfectly.
The frosting
My Salted Caramel Cupcakes, and Rolo Cupcakes provided the frosting and decoration inspiration for this. Using the same frosting as the cupcakes, and oodles of Rolos we had an absolute winner here.
- Butter – the butter you use in this cake is SO IMPORTANT!!!! You MUST use a block butter, and not a margarine for this cake. If you use margarine or spread, as soon as you add the caramel which counts as a liquid, you will end up with a soup texture and nobody wants that.
- Sugar – as with any American buttercream, icing sugar! Yes it’s sweet, but that’s what the salt in the caramel is for.
- Caramel – I used a ready made caramel in a tin (carnations anyone?) – and added salt chunks. You can use a dulce de leche or another THICK caramel sauce like my homemade caramel sauce though if you wish.
The drip
As all the other drip cakes I have made so far has used chocolate, I decided to go with a salted caramel sauce. I used carnations caramel from the supermarket as its ready made, and perfect for the buttercream and drip.
I loosened my caramel as mentioned in the method by just stiring it slightly in the bowl and adding the salt. I used some Disposable Piping Bags to do the drip, like I do in all of my cakes. I use the Disposable Piping Bags for ALL of my drizzles whether its on cupcakes, cheesecakes, or drip cakes.. its so much easier to use a little disposable bag which you can just snip the end off and use.
I only cut off about 1/3cm on the end of the bag, and edge it over to create the drips. I don’t push each drip that far at all as the caramel drips further than a chocolate ganache will, and you don’t want it to puddle tooooo much at the bottom!
Decoration
I decided to add the stereotypical ‘Jane’s Patisserie’ flair to my cake by piping round the cake with some of the leftover buttercream, adding loads of Rolos, and then some fudge and chocolate sprinkles. I just can’t resist it!
I used my favourite piping tip as always in a large piping bag, and carefully swirled the leftover buttercream about 1-2″ in from the edge. This helps as the caramel doesn’t ‘set’ perfectly so it prevents the buttercream swirls falling off the edge.
Tips & Tricks
For this cake it really is best to chill the cake at every stage. I always try and keep a drawer free in my freezer for bakes as it’s just quicker and easier, but the fridge works well, also. Chilling the cake means that it sets so when you carry on, it’s less likely to slip and slide all over the place.
I tend to fill my cake layers, make a crumb coat and chill well. Then, I add the thicker layer of buttercream, smooth over and chill. Add the caramel drip, and chill. Finally, decorate and enjoy! I know it seems faffy, but it WORTH IT.
Using a turntable makes this sort of cake much much MUCH easier to achieve, so I would recommend investing in one if you can! Enjoy!
(Photos updated June 2022)
Salted Caramel Drip Cake!
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 400 g unsalted butter
- 400 g light brown sugar
- 7 Large eggs (or 8 medium)
- 400 g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp whole milk (optional)
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 250 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 600 g icing sugar
- 175 g caramel (carnations)
- Pinch sea salt
Decoration
- 200 g caramel (carnations)
- Pinch sea salt
- rolos
- sprinkles
Instructions
For the Cake!
- Heat the oven to 180ºc/160ºfan and line three 20cm/8inch cake tins with baking parchment – leave to the side.
- In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the flour, eggs, baking powder (if using) and beat again briefly until combined – try not to overbeat!
- Divide the mixture between the three tins and smooth it over – bake for 25-30minutes until the cakes are golden and when the cake springs back (skewer should also come out clean)
- Once baked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then remove and leave to cool fully on a wire rack. If the cake has domed slightly, leave the cake to cool upside down to flatten it slightly.
For the Decoration!
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is smooth
- Beat in the icing sugar 1/3 at a time until its fully combined. Keep beating the buttercream for 5-6 minutes on a medium speed so it starts to get fluffier and lighter.
- Add in the carnations caramel and beat again with a pinch of sea salt and beat again for 3-4 minutes. Taste it, and if its salty enough then leave it, if not, add a little more and beat again.
Decoration
- Once the cakes are cooled, put the first layer on the serving plate spread some of the buttercream onto the top of the first layer, add the second cake on top, and then top again with some of buttercream and then add the final sponge layer.
- Only use about 2 tbsp of buttercream per layer so that you have enough to decorate with!
- With the leftover buttercream, as you can see, I covered the sides (and top) too! Do a first layer of around the edge and top using a large metal scraper and refriergate for 30 minutes. Repeat again with a slightly thicker layer of buttercream.
- I slather it on all over using an off-set spatula, and then run the metal scraper round till its smooth. The more you put on, the thicker it’ll be as because you are making it smooth, more comes off than you realise with smoothing it over.
- Set the cake in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
- Loosen the caramel you are using by briefly mixing in a bowl. Add to a piping bag.
- Pipe it round the edge of the cake, edging over slight bits to create the drip. You don’t need to use too much per drip as it’ll drop quite far down by itself! Fill in the top with more caramel so the top is also covered. Refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes.
- Pipe on the rest of your buttercream, and put on some Rolos, and sprinkles! Don’t pipe the buttercream too close to the edge of the cake as the weight might make it fall down (because of being on the caramel) so move it in slightly like I have! Enjoy!
Notes
- I seriously recommend using a Metal Scraper for the decoration of the buttercream, and the Disposable Piping Bags.. I wouldn't be anywhere without them!
- All of the decorations are completely optional – but I love this style of cake!
- To make a smaller 2 layer version of the cake:
- 250g Sugar, Butter Flour and 5 eggs!
- Split between two 8" tins!
- Use 2/3 of the decoration recipes!
- This cake will last in an airtight container for 3 days!
- I used the Carnations Caramel - not condensed milk, but the caramel by the same brand. You can also use Dr Oetker Salted Caramel fillings, just don't add more salt to it. You want a thick caramel to use, not a thin sauce.
ENJOY!
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J x
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26/09/2024 made this for my friends birthday I had a few blips as I’m only new to baking one of the blips was the caramel on top of the cake I did the drizzle perfectly but unfortunately the bottle top flew off and all the caramel spilled out on top of the cake I was heartbroken but I managed to pull it back and get as much off as possible it did leave the top a bit messy but i swirled the caramel round and got a marble affect with the icing so in the end it came out ok the taste was amazing. Lesson learned don’t squeeze the bottle too hard or make sure the cap is on tight 😂😂😂 thank you for sharing your recipe jane I will make this again
Hi, apologies if this has been asked already but do you use loose bottom tins or or sandwich tins? And do you bake all at the same time?
Hi would I be able to use a colour mill colouring in this icing?
Thank you
By how much would you increase the buttercream ingredients by for a 4 layer (still 8 inch) cake please? Thanks.
Can I replace the self raising flour with Gluten free self raising flour in your salted caramel cake and bake it..
Yes!
Hi, I love your recipes but am really confused as the sponge for this came out really dry. I know I’ve made an error as everyone else is saying it’s moist! I had to bake the sponges late the night before, so I let them cool and kept them in an airtight container with sheets of baking paper between. I think they either must have dried out overnight or I overbaked.
This usually means they are over baked, as if they were in a container overnight which was sealed that shouldn’t have caused a problem. xx
Hi I made this cake last week for my retirement party. Amazing cake tastes great. Only one thing the sponges were a bit dense. I used 7 eggs should I have gone to 8?
This could be due to under baking, or over mixing. Also if you kept the cakes in the fridge this may be why! x
Hi Jane I made this cake for my own retirement party. It looked fantastic but the cake sponges were so dry. The frosting and everything else was perfect. I followed the receipe exact and used 7 large eggs. Should I have used 8.? I did freeze the sponges a couple of days ahead. Will definitely make again as I love your recipes and have made several others of yours. Please advise and thank you.
This may mean that you have over baked the sponges, or they had freezer burn (or both) which dried them out. x
you say in your tips medium eggs and always
but listed in the ingredients its 7 large eggs ?
Hiya! Use the 7 large eggs, hope this helps! x
Hiya! You mention doing this as a 4 tier cake with a 500g mix. But I’m not sure how that affects the other measures. I assume anything that is 400g becomes 500g but what should the egg, baking powder and milk amounts be please? Thanks in advance.
400 g Unsalted Butter/Stork
400 g Light Brown Sugar
7 Large Eggs
400 g Self Raising Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
4 tbsp Whole Milk
Did you get the answer to this? Would love to know.
In the notes it says the amounts for a smaller 2 tier version – I imagine doubling that would give you the right amounts! thats what I’m going to do anyway lol
Hi Jane,
I made this last year and was hit but if I wanted to make this as a loaf cake as its smaller what what the quantities be?
Every time I make 3 layer sponges of any type, and have to cut across the cake to make enough for a lot of people, the slices don’t hold together. Any advice as to where I’m going wrong?
I have the same problem with all my three layer cakes. I’ve given up and now only make two layer cakes, which is a shame because all the pictures show three layer cakes slice beautifully. 🥲
I absolutely love this recipe. The finished cake looks fantastic. In fact I love all of your recipes Jane, I’m a keen baker and they just never go wrong and look so impressive. Thank you!!
Hi Jane excited to try this out!
I was just wondering I wanted to make a chocolate sponge for a birthday cake with caramel, would it be okay to add some Coco powder to the sponge mix for this recipe?
Thanks in advance!
MJ
Yes absolutely – take out 65g flour and add in 65g cocoa powder! Hope this helps! x
Hi, can I make homemade caramel and use that instead of caramel carnations?? I am making this cake today for my brothers birthday so if you could respond ASAP that would be great. Thanks!
Yes absolutely you can – take a look at my Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe! Enjoy! x