Cake and photo by Cyndi © Sarah Phillips
My aunt made a caramel cake for a family gathering earlier this year and I just HAD to get her recipe for the caramel icing…this is an old recipe (that I have adapted)… (It's) VERY different from the caramel icing that I was accustomed to with brown sugar. I use the Classic White Cake Recipe and sub some light brown sugar for some of the white sugar, about half. It just gives it a good taste that goes along very well with the Caramel icing!”
FROSTING, ICING, ETC RECIPE HELP
merllgirl, Premium Member, Says: “Cyndi, Thank you for the recipe! It's true….the icing is very creamy and not too sweet. I followed the direction step by step and I am very pleased with the results!! This one goes in the favorite box…Hubby is excited!”
INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) unsalted butter; Cyndi65 Says: “I was originally told to use 1 cup, but that is entirely too much!”
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or flavoring
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix baking soda with buttermilk. In a medium-size saucepan on low, melt butter. Combine sugar, corn syrup and buttermilk mixture. Heat to boiling, then turn down on medium and let cook until its a deep golden caramel color. Be VERY careful to not let it overcook, but be careful not to let it undercook either. Stay with it the entire time and stir frequently until it reaches 225 degrees F on a Candy Thermometer. When it reaches the right color, immediately pour it into a metal mixing bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Beat the mixture until it reaches the desired spreading consistency, takes about 20 minutes set on 4 on a KitchenAid stand mixer, but it could go longer. The longer you beat it, the creamier and thicker it gets. If it gets too thick, add a few drops of milk or cream. Let it cool completely before putting on a cooled cake.
STORAGE
Store in fridge.
