Moist Chocolate Caramel Cake (One Bowl)

The combination of smooth caramel and decadent chocolate creates a mouthwatering experience that is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Whether enjoyed on its own or paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, caramel chocolate cake is a delightful choice for any dessert lover and especially for chocolate cake and caramel lovers.

For more delicious chocolate cake recipes, check out my Matildas chocolate cake, chocolate coffee cake, small chocolate cake, dark chocolate sheet cake, Ferrero rocher cake, and fudgy flourless chocolate cake.

My biggest tip to make even cake layers is to use a scale and cake strips. Weigh the chocolate cake batter and divide it into two even pans.

Then use cake strips to make sure your cake layers bake evenly and don’t develop a dome on top. Cake strips give you an evenly baked cake with a flat top.

Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.

Full measurements are in the recipe card below.

Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.

Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our chocolate cake because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!

Baking powder and baking soda – to help the cake rise.

Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.

Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.

Eggs- To give the cake a good structure. Make sure you’re using room-temperature eggs.

Buttermilk- gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.

Hot coffee- make a strong hot coffee, you can use espresso or instant coffee, both will work.

Vanilla extract- Vanilla extract Is an essential ingredient for chocolate cake.

Salt- We used kosher salt for this recipe. Salt doesn’t give the cake a salty taste, it helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.

For the frosting

Butter- we used unsalted butter for the frosting but you can use salted butter and skip the salt.

Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.

For the caramel sauce

To make a perfect and foolproof caramel sauce, follow the instructions and tips in my simple salted caramel sauce recipe.

Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep 3 8-inch baking pans with cooking spray and parchment paper.

Into a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sift the cocoa powder, add the baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and granulated sugar, and mix with a whisk.

Divide the mixture into three 8-inch baking pans, I suggest using cake strips for even baking. (weight the batter for better results) and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (You can also use a 9-inch cake pan)

Let the cake cool completely before frosting so the frosting won't melt off the cake.

Make the chocolate caramel frosting

In a medium mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, room temperature butter, sift the cocoa powder, heavy cream, add the vanilla extract and salt, and whip with an electric hand mixer for 1-2 minutes.

Then, add the cold caramel sauce. Mix on high until the frosting is whipped and smooth.

Assembly

Pipe a small dollop of the frosting on the surface that you will frost on. Lay the first cake layer over the frosting dot.

Pipe a circle around the edges of the cake using the frosting. Then fill the circle with a thin layer of frosting and smooth it out with an offset spatula.

You can freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months, some people find the cake tastes better after freezing it.

You can freeze the whole cake or slice it into slices and then freeze it.

If you are freezing individual slices of the cake, I would recommend storing them in a ziplock bag and then transferring them to an airtight freezer-friendly container.

You can make this cake ahead by freezing the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap each cake layer with a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to frost and assemble the cake, make the frosting, and assemble the cake as written in the instructions!

Dairy-free- to make this cake dairy-free, replace the buttermilk with almond milk. Also, replace the heavy cream with coconut cream, and butter with vegan butter. Also, use dairy-free caramel sauce.

Egg-free- to make this cake egg-free, replace the eggs with ⅔ cup of applesauce.

Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.

Variations

Frosting- Use your favorite chocolate frosting like dark chocolate frosting, chocolate fudge frosting, chocolate whipped cream frosting, stabilized chocolate whipped cream frosting, chocolate cream cheese frosting, etc.

More cake recipes

3 Ingredient Mug Cake- This chocolate 3 ingredient mug cake is a delightful and quick dessert that can be made effortlessly in just a few minutes from start to finish.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake- This moist, and rich buttermilk chocolate cake is made in just one bowl and combines the richness of chocolate with the tanginess of buttermilk.

Vanilla Cake With Strawberry Filling- This incredible vanilla cake with strawberry filling is moist, tender, and full of strawberry flavor and is made with fresh strawberries!

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