High Altitude Vanilla Caramel Cake
This indulgent caramel cake starts with three moist and fluffy layers of vanilla cake layered with homemade salted caramel sauce. Salted caramel buttercream swirled with more caramel sauce adds a tempting finish to this delicious 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 Whisk Attachment
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste / vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups whole buttermilk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups salted caramel sauce, divided
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ¼ - ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt, depending on the saltiness of the caramel
Instructions
Salted Caramel
- You'll be using the caramel sauce to whip directly into the buttercream, to drizzle between the cake layers, and also to swirl into the buttercream after frosting your cake.
- Here is my recipe for homemade salted caramel sauce. You can make the sauce a few days in advance, and store it in the refrigerator. Let warm up to room temperature for an hour or two before using.
- If using a store bought sauce, try to get a good-quality salted caramel sauce.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, measure out the sugar. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pod and use your fingers to rub the seeds into the sugar until very fragrant and the seeds are evenly dispersed throughout the sugar. (If using vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste instead of a vanilla bean, add that with the wet ingredients.)
- Set a fine mesh sifter over the bowl of sugar, and sift in the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients well.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Divide the batter between the cake pans. Tap a few times against the counter to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes for about 21-25 minutes, or until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Set the pans on a wire rack, cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. When ready to frost and assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the pans.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the vanilla, mixing until thick and combined.
- Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Taste the buttercream and add the salt as needed.
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Place one of the cake layers on a plate or cake board. Frost the cake with a layer of the buttercream, then drizzle with 2-4 tablespoons of the salted caramel sauce. I used about 2 tablespoons for mine, but you can use up to 4 tablespoons if you want a more gooey caramel filling.Place the second layer of cake on top, and repeat with more buttercream and caramel drizzle.Place the third layer of cake on top. Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, then chill for 30 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream. You should have about 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce left. Randomly dab it around the cake, then use your icing spatula to swirl it into the buttercream, taking care to leave visible streaks of caramel. The more swirly the frosting, the prettier this cake looks!
- If you like, sprinkle the cake lightly with a flaky finishing salt like Maldon.
Notes
Store leftover cake in an airtight container or cake carrier for up to 3 days.
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