A high altitude recipe for a salted caramel cashew cake, made with three layers of rich, dense, and nutty brown butter cashew cake, frosted with salted caramel buttercream.
You might also love these recipes for chocolate caramel bundt cake, pecan caramel sticky buns, and no churn brownie sundae caramel swirl ice cream.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Rich and Dense. If you love a moist, rich, dense texture in cake, this is the recipe for you. The nutty cashews add so much flavor to the cake, while the caramel sauce really takes it to the next level.
Smaller Size. While not quite a “mini cake”, this 6-inch cake is smaller than a standard layer cake, since it’s so rich.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter.
- Light Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, and Powdered Sugar.
- Eggs.
- Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract.
- Milk + Sour Cream.
- All-Purpose Flour.
- Salt.
- Baking Powder.
- Cashews. I’ve tested the recipe with roasted and salted cashews. If you use unsalted cashews, you should double the salt in the cake recipe.
- Caramel Sauce. Any brand of caramel sauce/topping will work. You’ll be whipping some into the buttercream, and drizzling the rest between the cake layers and on top of the cake.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until nutty, golden brown milk solids form at the bottom of the pan. This process might take about 10 minutes. First the butter will hiss and splatter as the water evaporates, then as it quiets down, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter. This means the butter is done. Immediately remove from the heat, and scrape the butter, including the brown milk solids, into a large bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, and sour cream to the brown butter and whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, whisking until moistened, then fold in the chopped cashews.
- Divide the batter between the pans, and bake for about 22-28 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes (the top of the cake will settle and flatten as the cake cools).
- After 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges, and turn the cakes out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the cake layers individually in plastic wrap, and cool completely.Note: The reason for wrapping the cakes is that this cake recipe is a bit more dense, and since it’s butter based, it develops a crust while baking. Wrapping the cake while warm allows the steam to soften the crust and keeps the cake very moist.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter for one minute, until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. Add the vanilla, and 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce.
- Beat for 4-5 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down several times. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 2 more minutes.
- Place one of the cooled cake layers on a cake board and frost with a layer of buttercream. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp of the caramel sauce.
- Repeat with another layer of cake, buttercream, and caramel sauce.
- Place the third layer of cake on top, and frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, making it as smooth or swirly as you like.
- Drizzle a little caramel sauce on top of the cake, gently swirling it into the buttercream. Decorate the cake with salted cashews.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a larger 8-inch cake, double the cake recipe and the buttercream recipe. The cake layers may need to bake a few minutes longer.
I’ve tested this recipe with roasted and salted cashews. If using unsalted cashews in the cake, you should double the amount of salt in the cake recipe.
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Salted Caramel Cashew Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 6-inch Round Cake Pans (x3)
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- â…” cup whole milk, room temperature
- â…“ cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp (scant) baking powder
- ½ cup roasted and salted cashews, very finely chopped
Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ tbsp meringue powder, optional
- â…› – ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ¾ cup caramel sauce
- â…“ cup whole and chopped salted cashews, for decorating
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until nutty, golden brown milk solids form at the bottom of the pan. This process might take about 10 minutes. First the butter will hiss and splatter as the water evaporates, then as it quiets down, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter. This means the butter is done. Immediately remove from the heat, and scrape the butter, including the brown milk solids, into a large bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, and sour cream to the brown butter and whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, whisking until moistened, then fold in the chopped cashews.
- Divide the batter between the pans, and bake for about 22-28 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes (the top of the cake will settle and flatten as the cake cools).
- After 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges, and turn the cakes out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the cake layers individually in plastic wrap, and cool completely.Note: The reason for wrapping the cakes is that this cake recipe is a bit more dense, and since it's butter based, it develops a crust while baking. Wrapping the cake while warm allows the steam to soften the crust and keeps the cake very moist.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter for one minute, until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. Add the vanilla, and 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce.
- Beat for 4-5 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down several times. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 2 more minutes.
- Place one of the cooled cake layers on a cake board and frost with a layer of buttercream. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp of the caramel sauce.
- Repeat with another layer of cake, buttercream, and caramel sauce.
- Place the third layer of cake on top, and frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, making it as smooth or swirly as you like.
- Drizzle a little caramel sauce on top of the cake, gently swirling it into the buttercream. Decorate the cake with salted cashews.
Notes
- For a larger 8-inch cake, double the cake recipe and the buttercream recipe.
- If using unsalted cashews in the cake, you should double the amount of salt in the cake recipe.
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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