Chocolate Caramel Cake – Three layers of moist eggless chocolate cake filled and frosted with salted caramel stabilized whipped cream, topped with homemade caramel sauce and served with caramel popcorn. Pure chocolate-caramel dessert heaven.
No candy thermometer required.
This Chocolate Caramel Cake celebrates a small milestone for me: my YouTube channel reached its 100th video. I’m grateful to everyone who has watched, supported and encouraged me along the way.
Call it Chocolate Caramel Cake, Caramel Chocolate Cake, or Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce—whatever name you prefer, it’s delicious. This recipe yields a triple-layer chocolate cake with salted caramel whipped cream frosting and extra caramel sauce on top, finished with caramel popcorn for garnish.
How this cake is made
The base is a simple, moist eggless chocolate cake. The frosting is a stabilized caramel whipped cream: homemade caramel sauce folded into whipped cream and cream cheese for structure and flavor. Additional caramel sauce is used as a drip topping to intensify the caramel notes.
If you prefer a vanilla caramel cake, use a plain vanilla base and fold store-bought dulce de leche or homemade caramel into your frosting. But trust me—the chocolate cake with caramel filling is exceptional and worth trying.
This triple-layer cake is perfect for birthdays, anniversaries or any celebration.
Can you make cupcakes with this recipe?
Yes. Use any chocolate cupcake recipe and apply the caramel whipped cream frosting once cooled. Drizzle with caramel sauce for chocolate-and-caramel cupcakes.
Should caramel cake be refrigerated?
Yes. I refrigerate in stages: let baked layers cool completely (or chill until cool if short on time), assemble and crumb coat, refrigerate at least 30 minutes before the final frosting, then chill another 30 minutes after decorating. Chilling helps the frosting set and makes finishing easier.
Let’s talk caramel sauce—many find making caramel intimidating and opt to buy it. But you can make a great caramel without a candy thermometer.
Simple caramel sauce (no thermometer)
1. Heat sugar and a splash of water in a deep saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar melts and the syrup turns amber-golden.
2. Remove from heat, stir in cream (it will bubble up), then return to the heat briefly and stir for about a minute until slightly thickened. Cool before using. Add salt and vanilla to make salted caramel.
Tips for reliable caramel: use a deep pan to avoid overflow, brush down the pan sides with cold water to reduce crystallization, and watch closely—color changes can happen in seconds. If unsure, test a drop on foil to judge color. Remember the syrup continues to darken off-heat and after adding cream.
Caramel frosting
Once the caramel sauce is cooled, fold it into your frosting base—whipped cream, cream cheese frosting, buttercream or Italian meringue buttercream all work. For this cake I used stabilized whipped cream with cream cheese and folded in caramel to create a fluffy, stable caramel frosting.
Caramel sauce has many uses: as a drizzle for cakes, sauce for ice cream, or to coat popcorn for caramel popcorn to serve alongside the cake.
Flavour notes
The chocolate cake is moist and rich—thanks to buttermilk (easy to make by adding vinegar to warm milk) and cocoa powder for deep chocolate flavor. This cake base is versatile and can be used for Black Forest or vegan variations (substitute water for milk and follow vegan adjustments).
I used stabilized whipped cream as the frosting base because it holds up well and gives a light texture. For texture contrast you can add caramel chocolate chips or praline between layers. To make the cake visually interesting I created an upside-down drip design, but you can decorate however you like.
Watch the assembly and technique in the accompanying video:
Eggless Chocolate Caramel Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Base
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup warm milk
- 6 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp vinegar (or lemon juice)
Caramel Sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
Sugar Syrup
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 cup sugar
Caramel Frosting
- 2 cups (500 ml) whipping cream
- 3/4 cup (150 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 60 g caramel sauce
Garnish
- Salted caramel popcorn
Instructions
Chocolate Cake Base
- Add vinegar to warm milk, stir and let sit 5 minutes to make buttermilk. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl and add sugar.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix to a smooth batter.
- Divide into two 6-inch pans and bake at 180°C for 35–40 minutes.
Caramel Sauce
- Combine sugar and water in a deep saucepan over medium-low heat.
- When the syrup turns amber-golden, remove from heat and pour in cream while stirring. Return to heat and stir one minute until slightly thickened. Cool. Add salt and vanilla if desired.
Sugar Syrup
- Dissolve sugar in hot water and cool completely.
Caramel Whipped Cream
- Whip softened cream cheese until smooth.
- Gradually add whipping cream while whipping until combined.
- Fold in 60 g caramel sauce and icing sugar. Whip to stiff peaks.
To Assemble
- Level cooled cake layers. Apply sugar syrup generously.
- Spread caramel whipped cream between layers, drizzle caramel sauce, and stack remaining layers.
- Crumb coat and refrigerate 30 minutes. Finish frosting and chill another 15 minutes.
- Pour caramel sauce around the edges for a drip effect, chill until set.
- Place a cake board on top, flip the cake, remove the board, and finish the exposed top with extra frosting. Create texture with an offset spatula and decorate as desired with caramel popcorn.
Notes and tips
1. Warm the milk—not hot—when making buttermilk.
2. The ingredient quantities make two 6-inch layers. For a three-layer cake I halved the recipe to bake the third layer in a separate pan.
3. Salt and vanilla in the caramel sauce are optional; use salt for a salted caramel profile, especially if you won’t serve the cake with salted popcorn.
4. The frosting can be adapted—use cream cheese, ganache, buttercream or Italian meringue buttercream and adjust the caramel and sugar to taste.
5. Watch the sugar closely when making caramel; overheating produces a bitter, burnt flavor.
If you enjoyed this recipe, tag me on Instagram @spicesandflavors to get featured.
Thanks for joining me for my 100th video. See you soon.
Do pin this for later:
See you soon
Sushma