Caramel Buttercream Frosting
Learn how to make Caramel Buttercream Frosting, the most popular frosting recipe from my bakery! This sweet and creamy frosting is perfect for topping cakes, cupcakes, brownies and more!
If you’re looking for more caramel recipes, be sure to check out Homemade True Caramel, Salted Caramel Cake With Buttercream Frosting, Caramel Lollipops, Gingerbread Caramel Sauce, Homemade Chewy Chocolate Caramel Candy, Homemade Chewy Coffee Caramel Candies, or Salted Caramel No Churn Ice Cream.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Caramel Buttercream Frosting
- Ready In: 10 minutes
- Makes: 12 servings
- Main Ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, caramel sauce
- Flavor Profile: sweet caramel
- Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils, gluten free
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: most popular frosting recipe from my bakery
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Smooth and Creamy: This Caramel Buttercream Frosting is so smooth and creamy. The addition of silky caramel sauce gives this homemade frosting recipe such an amazing texture!
- 3 Ingredients: This buttercream frosting only has 3 ingredients, making it quick and easy!
- Crowd Pleaser: If you have caramel loves in your house, they will be obsessed with this Caramel Buttercream. It’s always a crowd pleaser, no matter how you use it!
Ingredients
- Butter: I use organic salted butter. You can also use unsalted butter if you prefer, but taste it to ensure it’s not too sweet. Add a pinch of salt as needed. Make sure to read Best Salted Butter for Baking where I test multiple different butters for frosting!
- Powdered Sugar: Make sure to sift powdered sugar for the most smooth and creamy buttercream frosting.
- Caramel Sauce: The key to this homemade frosting recipe is my homemade true caramel sauce. Making this true caramel is essential to get the best flavor. And if you are trying to recreate this at home because you were a fan at my bake shop, then don’t skip this step! While store bought caramel sauce will work, it will not taste as good.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker’s Tips
- Weighing your ingredients will ensure the best results.
- This homemade frosting recipe is only so good because I make my own Homemade True Caramel Sauce! Make sure to make this ahead of time so it has time to cool before beginning the frosting.Make sure to use softened butter, this is key for making buttercream frosting. I like to leave butter out on the counter to soften naturally before using (do not melt!).
- I use salted butter, but if you prefer to use unsalted you can. Just taste it to ensure you like it, and if it’s too sweet, add 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon of salt to your liking.
- If you want more of a salted caramel frosting, just add a little salt (1/2 teaspoon or so) and taste until you get your desired saltiness.
- Be sure to whip this until it's super smooth and creamy. Depending on your mixer and how soft your butter is that can be anywhere from 3 minutes or even longer like 7 or 10 minutes!
- Be sure to store extra frosting in an airtight container in the fridge.
How to Make Caramel Buttercream Frosting
- Be sure to have the homemade caramel true sauce made ahead of time and allow it to cool to room temperature before making the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and caramel sauce.
- Mix on low until combined, then speed the mixer up to high and whip for 3 to 5 minutes or until it's light and fluffy.
- Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl partway through mixing to ensure everything is evenly mixed. Then it's ready to use!
How to Use
You can use this Caramel Buttercream Frosting on cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, or anywhere else that you’d use a homemade frosting recipe. This recipe will be enough buttercream frosting for the following:
- 6-inch layer cake (2 or 3 layers)
- 9-inch snack cake (1 single layer, round or square)
- 1 batch of brownies
- 1 batch of cookies
Try it on Vanilla Buttermilk Sheet Cake with Vanilla Frosting, Avocado Oil Chocolate Cake, Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes, Simple Naked Birthday Cake, Eggless Coconut Sheet Cake, or Simple Vanilla Cupcakes for a caramel frosting on favorite cake recipes.
You can also substitute it for the filling in sandwich cookies like Homemade Peanut Butter Oreos, Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies With Sourdough Discard, or Chocolate Peanut Butter Florentine Sandwich Cookies.
How to Make Caramel Swirls
If you're frosting a cake and want to make beautiful caramel swirls, it's so easy! I show you exactly how to do this if you watch the video below. But, I'm going to explain this here as well.
- Once you have the cake frosted to your liking (I just do a rustic frosting).
- Then drop small dollops of caramel sauce all over the top of the cake.
- Using the back of a spoon, just swirl the caramel dollops around to create swirls. That's it!
Caramel Buttercream Frosting FAQ’s
Yes, just taste the frosting to ensure it’s not too sweet. This is already a sweet frosting, so the salted butter is key (in my opinion). You can always add a bit of salt to taste as well.
If frosting is too stiff, it wasn't whipped long enough. Be sure to whip, scrape down sides of the bowl and whip until it's fluffy. With the added caramel sauce, this frosting should not be stiff. But, if it is, you can add a little milk to loosen it. If you think it's too thin, you can a little more powdered sugar.
You can, but it will need to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and re-whipped before using. This is why I recommend just making it when you need to use it as it's just easier.
You can, but it won't be as good! Haha, I really think homemade caramel is so much butter, but yes, store bought works.
Yes! You can add salt in to taste. But, what I really recommend (and what we did at my bakery), is instead, just add a drizzle of caramel sauce on top of the frosting and sprinkle it with sea salt. This really gives you a salted caramel vibe that isn't too salty, it's just perfect!
If you're making a something with this frosting you can leave it out for a day or so while you enjoy it. But, extra frosting should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
Store extra frosting in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for about a week, you can just whip it back up to use.
More Caramel Recipes
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Caramel Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Scale
- Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 226 grams salted butter softened
- 454 grams powdered sugar sifted
- 57 grams caramel sauce
Instructions
- Be sure to have the caramel sauce made ahead of time and allow it to cool to room temperature before making the frosting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and caramel sauce.
- Mix on low until combined, then speed the mixer up to high and whip for 3 to 5 minutes or until it's light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl partway through mixing to ensure everything is evenly mixed. Then it's ready to use!
Video
Notes
- Weighing your ingredients will ensure the best results.
- This homemade frosting recipe is only so good because I make my own Homemade True Caramel Sauce! Make sure to make this ahead of time so it has time to cool before beginning the frosting.Make sure to use softened butter, this is key for making buttercream frosting. I like to leave butter out on the counter to soften naturally before using (do not melt!).
- I use salted butter, but if you prefer to use unsalted you can. Just taste it to ensure you like it, and if it’s too sweet, add 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon of salt to your liking.
- If you want more of a salted caramel frosting, just add a little salt (1/2 teaspoon or so) and taste until you get your desired saltiness.
- Be sure to whip this until it's super smooth and creamy. Depending on your mixer and how soft your butter is that can be anywhere from 3 minutes or even longer like 7 or 10 minutes!
- Be sure to store extra frosting in an airtight container in the fridge.
- High Altitude — Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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One of my most popular frosting recipes from my bake shop! I hope you enjoy it too!