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Old School style Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting. Taking a step back into our grandma’s youth with this DELICIOUS butter cake. Picture a buttery vanilla cake layered with rich, fudgy, chocolate frosting in the center. Then topped with the most delectable, roll your eyes back good – brown sugar frosting that’s sweet and creamy with notes of caramel mixed throughout. Sooo much to love here! Every bite is sweet, salty, extra chocolatey, and truly delicious. The perfect cake to enjoy any day of the week, no “celebratory” reasons required.
Taking it back to the old school days with this cake…or at least that’s what it feels like to me! Growing up my mom made cakes religiously. Come Friday night we’d have fresh baked cookies, cake, or some other kind of dessert on the counter without a doubt. She was the queen of the Friday night dessert.
No matter what the dessert was, we’d always eat them a little warm and gooey, just after baking. Oh, and always with a cold glass of milk. Baking in the kitchen with mom on Friday nights was such a special time. More times than not my brothers would be MIA, so it was just mom and me. My memories of those Friday nights are so fond and perfect. To this day, they are some of my favorites.
My mom would often bake up a classic chocolate cake, it was everyone’s favorite. What she wouldn’t bake however was any kind of vanilla cake. They were just not her thing. But, my grandma on the other hand? She’d bake up any flavor of cake…chocolate or vanilla, it just had to be easy.
While I don’t remember the exact cakes my Nonnie would bake, this feels like something she would have happily made. Something about a vanilla butter cake, with a super easy (secret ingredient) chocolate frosting, and a sweet brown sugar icing overtop just feels “old school” to me.
Like something she might have found in one of her Better Homes and Garden Magazine’s back in the day. I can literally picture the torn-out magazine page now…
How many of you have super, super old magazine cutouts your mom gave you with recipes? Please cherish those FOREVER. I wish I had more of them!
When my cousin, Maggie mentioned a butter cake yesterday, I was really curious about the idea. And then I got thinking and loved the idea of doing some kind of “old school” style cake.
So here we are!
And everyone? This cake is GOOD, and it’s even pretty easy.
Here are the details, start with the cake.
Start with the vanilla butter cake. I kind of based this off my tiramisu cake, but with a few adjustments. Either way, it’s easy…just beat the wet ingredients together, add the dry, and then beat in some buttermilk.
I always go heavy on the vanilla with my cakes. It’s KEY, so don’t skimp on it.
The chocolate frosting.
While the cake is cooling, you can start making the chocolate fudge frosting. Now this really IS old school. It’s simply just melted chocolate chips and sour cream. I also added espresso powder, which really highlights the chocolate.
For having just three ingredients, this is some of the most magical frosting. Very creamy, rich, and fudgy. And I love that it’s not too sweet, but just sweet enough.
Now, spread the frosting over one layer of the cake. Add the top layer, then chill the cake while you make the brown sugar icing.
Last thing…the brown sugar icing.
I stole this recipe from my chai cupcakes with brown sugar frosting. It’s the same recipe, only this is melted down into more of an icing/glaze…which yes, also feels very old school.
The brown sugar melted down adds hints of warm molasses and really deepens the flavor to create an icing that’s perfectly rich and caramel-like. And when you add a touch of vanilla and sea salt? Well, it’s hard to say no to a second piece. I highly recommend slathering on more icing than you think your cake needs.
Also, you’ll want to swirl on the icing while it’s still warm, once it cools it will stiffen up.
To finish, I topped my cake with chocolate curls and sea salt for a salty-sweet finish.
And that’s it. Honestly, this cake is pretty simple to put together. There are three “steps”, but they’re all very easy. And so very good. Each bite is filled with sweet vanilla butter cake, fudgy chocolate frosting, and sweet caramel-like brown sugar icing.
Best kind of any day cake to bake, no reason required. Although it is my Dad’s birthday today…but he’s not big on celebrating it!
Looking for other easy winter desserts? Here are some favorites:
Brown Butter Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Lastly, if you make this Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 809 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
Brown Sugar frosting
- 2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans and line with parchment paper. 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stream in the buttermilk, beating until just combined. Pour the batter among the 2 cake pans.3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is just set. Let cool 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert the cake onto a plate, flip it back over onto a serving plate. Let cool.4. To make the chocolate frosting. Microwave the chocolate chips and a pinch of salt, stirring every 45 seconds, until melted. Stir in the sour cream and espresso, a dollop at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Swirl the frosting onto the top of the cake. Place the second cake layer on top. Run a knife around the side of the cake to clean up any frosting. Chill while you make the brown sugar frosting.5. To make the brown sugar frosting. Melt together the butter, brown sugar, and cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Add a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sift in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla. Beat until well combined. The frosting should be glossy and pourable. If it feels too runny, add powdered sugar to thicken it.6. Pour the frosting over the cake, spreading around the sides of the cake too. The frosting will set quickly on the cake. If desired top with chocolate curls and sea salt. Slice, eat, and enjoy!!
Notes
This post was originally published on February 19, 2021
I made this tonight. Like a few others already stated it was perfect until I got to the frosting. It was way too runny and I continued to add powdered sugar until it was crossing the line of being way too sweet. Next time I will cut back and just do one stick of butter, I made the frosting in this recipe a few weeks back, very similar but less butter and has the consistency I like for icing a cake: https://www.bakedbyanintrovert.com/easy-banana-cake/. Other than that it is delicious!
Hey Lauren,
Thanks for trying the recipe, sorry to hear about the frosting! xTieghan
I know this sounds a little crazy, as a diabetic I would love this how many carbs.
Hey Larry,
Sorry I only offer the estimated calorie count info. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
How do you suggest storing the cake? I’m making it to bring to work tomorrow. Thanks!!
Hey Hannah,
I store in an airtight container on the counter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Have you tried with gluten free flour? Wondering if it would work!
Hey Maureen,
I would use an equal amount of gluten free flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Every recipe I have tried is amazing!! Love love!!
I am always confused thought about the oven settings, as it’s never specified: conventional or fan mode?
I ve noticed it makes a huge difference especially in baking! Could you please specify oven setting on your recipes? Thank you :):)
Hey Eliza,
Thanks so much for trying the recipes, I always use regular bake:) Let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I had similar issues with the brown sugar frosting. It was on the runny side and pooled on the plate after I poured it on top. Wish it was thicker. It made more than I needed. I saved it and will come up with a creative use for it somewhere else. Overall it tasted delicious and my husband loved it.
Hey Jen,
So sorry about this, sounds like it needed some more powdered sugar. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
The cake is delicious although mine was not a total success. When I added the buttermilk it curdled. It baked very dense and doesn’t rise much. The frosting is very good but it was very liquid I poured it over but wasn’t able to swirl it it don’t look like yours. Despite these problems my hubby thought it was Greaaattt. I will try it again to see what happens.
Hey Wendy,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe as try! Try adding more powdered sugar to thicken up the frosting:) Sorry about the buttermilk, next time make sure it’s room temperature! I hope this helps. xTieghan
Good Morning from Ontario. That brown sugar icing is an old time favourite over here! It is used on my mom’s old time “pound” cake recipe (she called it a walnut cake but never used walnuts), banana loaf, and cupcakes. Always a favourite! I must try this cake – it looks absolutely delish!
Hey Rosella,
Yum! That sounds delicious! I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Loved this recipe! I ended up with way more brown sugar frosting than I needed but other than that it worked out perfectly! I maybe should have waiting for the frosting to thicken a tiny bit before I poured it over the cake because it made a bit of a mess on the plate but it tasted fantastic. My whole family loved it
Hey Nastassia,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan
I really wish you would put the weight of the actual flour you used into grams or oz for a food scale. As some one that love to bake and LOVES your blog I wish i had more exact measurements as i do have issues with your recipes when i try to be precise and measure out the ingredients.
Hey Jacqueline,
If you just click “metrics” under the ingredient list, you will find all of the measurements in grams. Hope this helps! xTieghan
Dear Tieghan,
This cake is EVERYTHING! I am not a cake lover (I actually *hate* most cakes and prefer pies), nor am I much of a baker (I tend to burn things), but this had me thinking of memories with my grandmother, so I just had to try this one. My family is Lithuanian and we use sour cream in our cake recipes too! (We make a multi-layered honey cake with sour cream that is delicious.) If we are talking old-school, I used my grandmother’s 50+ year old KitchenAid mixer and my boyfriend’s grandmother’s 50+ year old springforms to make this cake. Now – I don’t have 8″ springforms, I have a 9″ and a 10″, so I got creative and trimmed one layer to match the other and got to sample the cake by itself just out of the oven. And **drool**!!! The cake just by itself is to die for! My biggest challenge was the icing/frosting – I ended up with may too much!!! And for my personal preference, I would add just a touch more salt to have a salted caramel kind of flavor. Needless to say, this cake was a huge hit with my boyfriend – who has the biggest sweet tooth I know – and with me! YUMM!! I look forward to making it again.
Thank you for sharing this and taking me down memory lane with my grandmother.
xoxo,
J
Hey Janina,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan
Resistance is futile! I certainly don’t need this cake BUT I WANT IT! It’s currently baking in my oven! Will post pic when it’s finished.
Hope it’s delish Karen! xTieghan
Everything has turned out great so far except the brown sugar icing. It’s very runny. Did the recipe maybe mean to call for 1 stick of butter instead of 2?
Hey Abby,
It sounds like you need to add more powdered sugar. I hope this helps! xTieghan
You certainly convinced me that I can make a cake “just because”, and that’s exactly what I did. I halfed the recipe and was able to make a 2 layer 6” cake. I just monitored the cakes in the oven and 22 min worked well. This cake was AMAZING. The vanilla cake was so soft. I love the texture of the chocolate filling, and the caramel frosting was perfectly caramely and simple to make. I was a little confused on how much to cool the frosting, so when I poured it over the cake (after chilling it in the fridge), it was still very warm and started to melt the chocolate from the sides. It still came out fine and I actually had some pretty chocolate swirls mixed into the caramel frosting. Next time I might let it cool a little more. But I still love this cake, and will definitely make it for our next occasion. Thanks for the recipe ☺️
Hey Kristin,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan
It came out very good. What chocolate do you use? I used semi-sweet and with the added expression I thought it had a little bitter taste. The caramel frosting was everything though!
Hey Catherine,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! I used semi sweet chocolate as well! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan