This salted caramel chocolate cake recipe has us obsessed! 3 moist chocolate cake layers, gooey salted caramel sauce, and salted caramel chocolate frosting! Need I say more? This cake has so much chocolate flavor and is the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers!

Today is my 29th birthday! And I’m (obviously) celebrating with cake… salted caramel chocolate cake to be exact. I’ve been testing this recipe forever and finally cracked the code just in time for my b-day.

This chocolate cake is NOT your average chocolate cake recipe. Ultra moist, dense, and rich with chocolate flavor… and the cake layers are sandwiched with gooey caramel sauce and salted caramel chocolate buttercream. I may never make chocolate cake another way!!!

Ingredients for Chocolate Cake Batter

• Hot Water: Or hot coffee, if you like a subtle coffee flavor in your cake batter.
• Sugar: Brown sugar and granulated sugar create sweet and moist cake layers!
• All-Purpose Flour: I cannot recommend using another variety of flour. This is the most important of the dry ingredients, so make sure to measure correctly.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Do not use hot chocolate mix, sweetened cocoa, or dutch-process cocoa powder. Sift your cocoa powder before use for best results.
• Baking Soda: Helps the cake batter spread for even cake layers.
• Baking Powder: Helps the cake layers rise in the oven for fluffy cake layers.
• Salt: Enhances the chocolate flavor and helps balance sweetness.
• Eggs: You’ll use 3 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature.
• Sour Cream: If you cannot find sour cream, full fat plain Greek yogurt works as a sub.
• Milk: Whole milk works best, but low-fat milk will work in a pinch.
• Oil: Vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil will all work here.
• Vanilla: 2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract enhance the chocolate flavor.

Ingredients for Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• Unsalted Butter: Make sure your butter is at room temperature so there are no large chunks in your chocolate frosting.
• Confectioners’ Sugar: Sifting your sugar will provide a silky smooth chocolate buttercream frosting. I don’t suggest reducing the amount of sugar, because it creates a thick chocolate frosting.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Here you can use regular cocoa powder. Or use Dutch-process cocoa powder for an extra dark chocolate frosting.
• Vanilla Extract: Enhances the chocolate flavor in the chocolate frosting.
• Salt: Enhances the chocolate flavor in the chocolate frosting and helps balance the overall sweetness.
• Heavy Cream: Makes the chocolate frosting extra creamy! Use more if needed, but only add a tablespoon at a time to avoid runny frosting.
• Caramel: Try my homemade salted caramel sauce or use your favorite store-bought caramel!

Let’s Bake Chocolate Cake!

1. Prep Cake Pans: Ensure you spray the cake pans well with nonstick baking spray. And line them with parchment paper cut-outs. You don’t want the cakes sticking to the cake pans!
2. Make the Cake Batter: You’ll need a large bowl for chocolate cake, so make sure you have one on hand. This makes a lot of wet ingredients/cake batter!
3. Bake the Cakes: They’ll need about 30 minutes in the oven. They’re ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean, or with moist crumbs attached.
4. Cool the Cakes: Make sure to cool completely before frosting! Cool cakes at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until completely cool to the touch.
5. Make the Frosting: Right before you plan on decorating the cake, make the chocolate buttercream frosting.
6. Assemble the Cake: Trim the cake layers so they’re even. Then top with chocolate buttercream frosting, and a layer of salted caramel sauce. Add another cake layer, and repeat. If you’d like, you can drizzle more caramel on top of the whole cake after you fully frost it.

Tips for *PERFECT* Chocolate Cake

• This recipe calls for vegetable oil, but you can use an equal amount of canola oil or melted coconut oil in its place. Or, even olive oil will work in a pinch, but will add olive oil flavor. I do not recommend substituting oil with butter.
• For best results, make sure your eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, and milk have all come to room temperature before you begin baking. Cold ingredients don’t bond and can cause issues with even baking.
• When you measure your flour, be sure you’re not packing it into the measuring cup. Packed flour will yield a dense and dry cake. For best results, weigh your flour with a kitchen scale.
• The cake layers should all be baked on the middle rack of your oven. If there’s not enough room in your oven to bake them all in an even row at once, simply bake them in two batches.
• For the chocolate buttercream frosting, you’ll want to make sure your butter is VERY soft before creaming it. Cold butter will clump up and won’t blend evenly.
• The chocolate cakes should be completely cool before adding the frosting and salted caramel. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 and 1/2 hours. Be patient!
• The assembly is a two part process: you’ll place one cake level on a large plate, top it with a thin layer of frosting, then add the caramel, then add another cake level and repeat. Once you’ve added the final cake level you’ll want to leave the top bare and place the cake in the fridge to set for one hour. Once it’s set, you can finish frosting.

If you love chocolate cake as much as I do, you have to try this sexy salted caramel version! It’s got everything you know and love about chocolate cake, but with a fun and unexpected salted caramel twist.

It makes a BIG cake, so it’s perfect for larger celebrations or birthday parties, etc. Leftovers can be wrapped in saran wrap and stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. But I doubt they’ll last you that long. This cake never lasts more than a day in my house! It’s borderline addictive!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

Ashley Manila

Three layers of Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake slathered in homemade Chocolate Frosting. So decadent!

4.96 from 104 votes

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 1 minute min

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Inactive Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 31 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cake

Servings 1 Layer Cake (9″)

Ingredients

 

For the chocolate cake:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (not packed!)
• 1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 cups full-fat sour cream
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (you may also sub in melted coconut oil)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups hot water

For the salted caramel chocolate frosting:

• 2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks, 16 ounces), VERY soft
• 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream (more if needed)
• 2 tablespoons salted caramel sauce

Garnish:

• 1 and 1/4 cups salted caramel sauce
• Flaky sea salt

Instructions

 

For the chocolate cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°(F). Cut out three 9-inch round segments of parchment paper to line your cake pans with. Spray each pan generously – sides and bottom – with nonstick cooking spray, then place the parchment paper cut out in the bottom of the pans and spray again. It’s important to make sure every bit of pan and paper are sprayed so your cakes don’t get stuck. Set pans aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, combine both sugars, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix on low until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. Use your hands to break up any large clumps, if needed.
• In a separate bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, milk, oil and vanilla extract; mix until completely combined. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and beat on low until just incorporated. Pour in hot water and continue mixing until completely combined; about 1 minute. The batter will quite thin.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool cakes for 10 minutes in the pan before removing from pans and transferring to a cooling rack; cool cakes completely before frosting.

For the chocolate frosting:

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter on medium-speed until completely smooth; about 3 minutes.
• Turn the mixer off and sift the powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on the lowest speed and mix until the sugar/cocoa have been absorbed by the butter; about 2 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium; add in vanilla extract, salt, heavy cream and salted caramel; beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting appears a little too thin, add a little more confectioners’ sugar; If your frosting needs to be thinner, add additional heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Assembly:

• Using a serrated knife, carefully trim the raised top of each cake, making each one an even, level surface. Transfer 1 layer to a large plate or cake stand. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top, then add a 1/2 cup of caramel; top with another cake layer, and repeat, thinly spread it with a layer of frosting, then adding a 1/2 cup of caramel. Top final cake layer and place cake in the fridge to set for 1 hour. Once set, finishing frosting the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slice and serve, or keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Notes

Cake may be baked up to 5 days in advance and stored in the fridge. Unfrosted cakes may be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months. For best results, follow the recipe as written.

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