This chocolate caramel cake is made with a moist one bowl chocolate cake, filled with caramel sauce, and frosted with chocolate caramel frosting.
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.
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Why this recipe works
- Chocolate and caramel flavor- this cake is loaded with chocolate and caramel flavor from the chocolate cake layers to the caramel filling to the chocolate caramel frosting.
- Salted caramel filling- this cake is filled with gooey and decadent homemade salted caramel sauce that you get in every bite.
- Chocolate caramel frosting- this cake is topped and frosted with chocolate caramel frosting that is silky smooth and delicious.
- Texture- this delicious cake has an extra moist crumb and fluffy and gooey texture that melts in your mouth.
How to make even cake layers
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.
Ingredients
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.
Instructions
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.
Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract, and mix until almost combined.
Add the hot coffee and mix until the batter is smooth and has no lumps of flour.
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.
Fill the middle of the circle with ⅓ cup of caramel sauce and smooth it out with a spatula.
Top with the second cake layer and repeat the process. Top with the third cake layer and frost the cake with the remaining frosting. Slice, and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Faq's
Chocolate and caramel cake is made with moist chocolate cake layers that are filled with caramel sauce, and topped and frosted with chocolate caramel sauce.
Yes. You can bake the cakes in 10-inch cake pans or make ⅔ of the cake batter and use 8-inch cake pans.
Yes! Making caramel sauce can be intimidating to some, so it's absolutely possible to use a store-bought caramel sauce.
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. This cake tastes amazing for 4 days!
Freezing
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.
Make it ahead of time
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!
Substitutions
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.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- 8-inch cake pans.
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!
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. I love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Moist Chocolate Caramel Cake (One Bowl)
Ingredients
- 3 cups Flour
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups Granulated sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Coffee hot!
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
Chocolate caramel frosting
- 1 ½ cups Butter room temp
- 3 cups Powdered sugar
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon Caramel sauce use my salted caramel sauce recipe
- 2 tablespoon Heavy cream
Assembly
- ⅔ cups Caramel sauce
Instructions
- 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.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract, and mix until almost combined.
- Add the hot coffee and mix until the batter is smooth and has no lumps of flour.
- 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.
- Fill the middle of the circle with ⅓ cup of caramel sauce and smooth it out with a spatula.
- Top with the second cake layer and repeat the process. Top with the third cake layer and frost the cake with the remaining frosting. Slice, and enjoy!
Notes
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Louise says
Hi
What size eggs are needed please?
RichandDelish says
Large eggs.
Laurie C says
This is an excellent cake! My husband loved it!
Chele says
Hoping to make this later, but I have a question- how much cold caramel sauce goes into the frosting?
RichandDelish says
Hi Chele, as written in the recipe below, you will need 2 tbsp of caramel sauce for the frosting.
Tim says
In the instructions , it say prepare 2 8 inch cake pans ,
Then further down in the recipe it say divide batter between 3
8 inch pans .
RichandDelish says
You are right, thank you for pointing that out. It was a typo, you will need 3 8-inch baking pans. I fixed it in the post.
Priscilla says
The recipe look nice and easy to bake. Will test it soon.
Karen says
Where is the recipe for the caramel sauce?
RichandDelish says
Hi! The recipe for the caramel sauce is linked in the recipe card and in the post.
Zainab says
Yummy cake
Debra Baker says
I’m making this recipe, only I’m substituting the flour for almond flour and the white sugar for coconut sugar. This removes the majority of bad carbs from this recipe. For the frosting and the caramel I’m using the coconut sugar , but I put it in my food processor and grind it to a powder at high speed. You can now use this as powdered coconut sugar! This works great on all recipes that’s high in sugar content! The taste is Fabulous too! Thanks! Debbe’ 💞💞
Desmond says
I love d recipes