Caramel Icing recipe evaporated milk

Southern Caramel Cake is a fabulously rich and decadent cake with tons of super sweet icing. This is a cake that will make any occasion memorable.

As a child it seems like whenever I went to my grandmother’s house, which was often for a holiday or special occasion, there was always a caramel cake. They were never made by her. I don’t think she baked anything in her entire life, but she had lots of friends who loved to bake and they were constantly bringing her food gifts. Pound Cake and Caramel Cake were the two regulars.

I fell in love with the icing on a Caramel Cake at a very young age. It is as sweet as sweet can be. Sometimes I would just eat the icing and leave the cake part because it can tend to be a little dry and bland.

But this Southern Caramel Cake from has two delicious and moist cake layers, with a lighter texture than many caramel cakes. And a fabulously sweet icing. Lots of it!

Because it’s all about the icing.

I actually didn’t intend for it to have this much icing, but both my cake layers collapsed slightly in the middle (I think I opened the oven door too many times to check on them.) and I didn’t have a sharp enough serrated knife to even out the top. I probably should have just flipped them over and had the bottom be the top. But my mind must have been so fixated on the icing that I wasn’t thinking straight.

Instead I had to let a ton of frosting pool in the middle to flatten out the top. So it was necessary to make a second batch of icing to cover the sides. Not neccesarily a bad thing. 😉

Warning: If you don’t have a serious sweet tooth, this is not the cake for you.

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• One (1-pound) box light brown sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 7 tablespoons evaporated milk

1. Make the cake. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
2. In a small saucepan, cook the butter and milk over low heat until the butter melts. Stir well and let cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light yellow and smooth.
5. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until combined.
6. Add the cooled milk mixture and vanilla and stir well.
7. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the middle.
8. Place pans on a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on racks.
9. Make icing. In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom, combine the brown sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Stir well and turn heat down so mixture boils gently. Cook for 7 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
10. Beat the icing with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken.
11. Place bottom layer on a platter or cake stand. Working quickly before icing sets up, spread icing on top. Place second layer on top. Ice the top and sides. A knife dipped in hot water can help smooth the icing out.