For as long as I can remember, my mom has made me the same birthday cake every year like clockwork. My 20th birthday just passed, and I once again, got the chance to eat a slice of my mom’s homemade chocolate cake with salted caramel cream cheese frosting. Seriously, it’s to die for!
The chocolate cake is pretty basic, so I won’t bother explaining it, but her homemade caramel and caramel cream cheese frosting deserves its own recipe. I asked my mom how she makes it and this is what she shared…
This recipe makes about 5 cups of frosting, or can frost around 48 cupcakes.
Ingredients:
Caramel sauce
Granulated sugar – 2 cups
Unsalted butter – 1 ½ sticks (room temperature)
Heavy cream – 1 cup (room temperature)
Coarse sea salt – 2-3 teaspoons (based on your liking)
Caramel frosting
Unsalted butter – 2 sticks (room temp)
Cream Cheese – 8 ounces (room temp)
Caramel sauce – ½ cup
Powdered sugar – 4 cups
To prep, cut the butter into small pieces. Put the sugar in a bigger pot than you think you’d need (around 4 quart pot/saucepan).
Heat the sugar on medium heat, whisking it as it melts. It will get clumpy, but keep whisking. It will get hot, so be careful!
Once all the sugar has melted, keep a VERY close watch on it. Keeping whisking it until it turns a reddish-brown. If you let it go too long, it will burn. At this point, you’ll start to smell it, and that’s how you know it’s basically done.
Once caramel is perfect, add all the butter while still on medium heat. It’ll start bubbling up a lot, which is why you should use a large pot. Keep whisking until the butter is completely melted and incorporated into the sugar. This will take a couple of minutes but keep whisking!
Then, take it off the heat. Add the room temperature cream, keep whisking! Stir in the salt to taste.
Then let it cool in the pot for about 10-15 minutes. After, pour it in a glass container (she prefers a mason jar).
Now you’re ready to make the frosting!
First, cream together the butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer.
Add the caramel sauce and blend!
Then, add the powdered sugar (a little at a time).
Once it’s all incorporated, you’re all done!
Again, this should make around 5 ½ cups of frosting, or ice around 48 cupcakes. You will have extra caramel sauce left over, which we’ve always used to drizzle on top and even fill the cupcakes.
She’s been able to keep the caramel sauce in the fridge for up to a month. So, you can use it for future baking!
The frosting lasts around a week, so you will have many chances to get all of your friends to try the best salted caramel frosting around!