A gorgeous two layer Caramel Mud Cake made with white chocolate and brown sugar. Frosted with creamy white chocolate buttercream, it’s the perfect cake for birthdays or celebrations.
The ultimate Caramel Mud Cake is HERE 🙌🏻
A buttery, two layer Caramel Mud Cake with a tender crumb and a creamy, silky smooth, white chocolate frosting. Swirls of whipped cream and gooey caramel Rolos take this cake to the next level.
You. Are. Welcome.
When I was testing this Caramel Mud Cake recipe, I made it four times in four days. That’s eight caramel cakes. All needing to be taste-tested.
Needless to say, by cake three I was getting a little sick of the word caramel and a little tired of trying sub-par cake. Thankfully, cake test number four changed everything. And this is the result.
Two layers of buttery Caramel Mud Cake, made using brown sugar and real white chocolate. It’s a simple mix and stir recipe that’s essentially only one bowl, or rather, one saucepan.
And once you take that two-layer cake and pair it with homemade White Chocolate Buttercream, well then you’ve entered some kind of creamy caramel heaven.
I’ve had Caramel Mud Cake on my recipe list for the longest time. But I’ve been scared because I’ve tasted way too many dry and tasteless caramel cakes in my life and I was terrified of becoming just one more caramel cake statistic.
Thankfully, I don’t think that’s going to happen because I stumbled on a winner and it’s moist and buttery and bursting with caramel flavour.
Not only is this Caramel Mud Cake tasty but it’s really easy to make. In fact, it’s probably one of the easiest cake recipes on this blog. Baking in two layers also means these mud cakes cook in just 40 minutes.
But aside from the cake, my new favourite thing is white chocolate buttercream 👇🏻 Hello heaven!
Made with real white chocolate, this silky sweet frosting pairs beautifully with the dense caramel cake. The finishing touch? Swirls of whipped cream dotted with caramel Rolos.
To be honest, I thought I might need a break from caramel cake after all that taste testing, but after writing this post and reminiscing about the caramel mud cake that graced my dining table just yesterday, I think I might need to make another one.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Caramel Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream
A beautiful two layer caramel cake with white chocolate frosting.
Ingredients
Caramel cake
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, roughly chopped
- 300 grams (2 cups) good quality white chocolate
- 180 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 240 ml (1 cup) water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
White chocolate frosting
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (1 cup) good quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 435 grams (3 and 1/2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons full fat or whole milk, room temperature
- 240 ml (1 cup) thickened cream or heavy cream
- Rolos, to decorate, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with baking or parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, add butter, white chocolate, sugars and water. Place on low heat, stirring until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly.
- Add eggs and vanilla to cooled white chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until combined – don’t worry if the batter is a little lumpy.
- Divide the cake batter between the two cake tins and place in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in cake tin.
- To make the frosting, place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring in between 20 second bursts, until just melted and set aside.
- Add vanilla, half the sugar and one tablespoon of milk to the butter and beat until combined. Add the remaining sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add melted chocolate, ensuring the chocolate is still smooth and melted but is not warm. Beat until the chocolate is completely mixed through. If frosting is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk.
- Place one cake layer onto a cake board or stand. Cover the top with white chocolate buttercream. Place second cake layer on top (upside down for a nice flat top). Frost the top and sides of cake. Smooth sides using a cake scraper.
- Whip cream using an electric mixer (or by hand) until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe cream along the edges of the cake. Decorate with Rolos.
Anna says
Hi,
I’m wanting to make this into a raspberry white chocolate mud cake .
Would it affect the Cale if I added 250g frozen raspberries to the batter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Anna, it might be easier if you try my White Chocolate Raspberry Mud Cake Recipe.
Lauren says
Hi 🙂
This looks delicious. I am making a naked cake for my husband’s nans 90th. Do you think this would be enough to feed 35-40 people? Cut up small obviously. Or would it be better to add another layer? Also do these cook fairly flat on top or into a dome? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lauren, it’s really hard to say depending on how thin the slices are, but I think an extra layer would be a good idea. And they are fairly flat and need little trimming on top! Hope that helps. I’d love to see a photo when you’re done, you can tag me on Instagram @sweetestmenu ☺️
Steph says
I would make two batches of the recipe in 8 inch pans, making 4 layers. Definitely trim tops so the cake stacks straight!
To serve, cut a quarter wedge of the cake, slice that wedge into 4, and slice again the opposite way into 3. You will end up with roughly 50 small serves. Which is perfect because some people will go back for more, and if not you have some leftover. 😁 this cake is fantastic I swear by it
Felicity says
Made this gorgeous cake for my boy’s 13th birthday…what a lovely combination of textures – crunchy on the crust and sticky in the middle.
Thanks so much for making this recipe.
It was even better the following day.
I found that slightly thick buttercream is excellent in a piping bag for decorating 😉
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so glad you liked it Felicity! ❤️ Thank you so much for the lovely review!
Steph says
I made this recipe and your chocolate fudge cake recipe, in alternate layers with a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream for a birthday recently.
The cakes themselves had such a magnificent texture. Perfect for stacking, extremely stable and not too dense.
This caramel cake flavour was amazing, it was everybody’s favourite. It was NOT outshone by the chocolate flavour. Amazing!!!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow thank you for the lovely review Steph! ❤️ Your cake sounds absolutely incredible!
Victoria says
Made this for my husbands birthday, it was delicious!! However the frosting didn’t work very well, It had lumps of white chocolate through it and lots of chocolate stuck to the side of the bowl. What should I do differently??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Victoria! So pleased you enjoyed this cake! ❤️ It sounds like your white chocolate wasn’t completely melted before you added it to the buttercream. Next time, give the white chocolate a good stir, getting rid of all the lumps, before adding it to the butter and sugar mix – I think that’ll help! ☺️
Caroline says
Hello there! I am hoping to make some of these for my daughter’s first birthday, but I want to make them as cupcakes. Apart from a reduced cooking time, do you see any reason why this wouldn’t work?
Thank you very much!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Caroline! Excited you are going to try these. I actually adapted this recipe into cupcakes, you can find it here.
Caroline says
That’s awesome – thanks so much!
Emma says
Hey,
I’m going to try this cake out today as it looks amazing!
Do you have to use unsalted butter in he cake mix or could you use stork?
Thanks 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Emma! I’ve only tested this recipe with butter – so I think using butter would be better if you can! Hope you enjoy it ☺️
Hayley says
Hi,
I’m going to make this for my husband’s 30th birthday, but I need to make a large square cake which the tin is 13″ could I double the recipe for this cake tin size?
Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Hayley, so excited you are going to try this cake! You could use the recipe as is and use the 13 inch pan to create a one layer cake. Hope you enjoy it!
Hayley says
Perfect, if i make the cake Friday for the birthday on Saturday would I have to freeze the cake overnight then decorate on Saturday or could I decorate Friday and leave itout over night?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Hayley! The cake will keep well wrapped in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature overnight. You could then frost it fresh on Saturday! ☺️
Helen says
I’d really like to bake this cake for a birthday but my daughter is allergic to eggs. Can anyone recommend what I could replace the eggs with in this recipe please? Possibly bicarbonate of soda?
Many thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Helen, I’m sorry I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs so I can’t say.
Megan R says
I made this for my husband’s 30th, and it was delicious. Really nice and dense and a nice flavour. The white chocolate icing was great. It was very sweet so small pieces were more than enough. I also did it in 3 cake tins for a triple layer cake, and decorated with malteasers. The three layers only took about 25 minutes in the oven. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Aww thank you for the lovely feedback Megan! 💕 I’m so pleased you loved it. Decorating it with Malteser sounds brilliant!
Sophie Bertelli says
just finished the case. For the thick cream decorations, can I do this now and keep outside of the fridge until tonight, I read that a mud cake can not go in the fridge as it dries up. I find the cake really sweet as I am not used to eating white chocolate (I prefer dark chocolate myself :-)) so I think I will use some pecan nuts instead of the rolos. Will send a picture once it’s done !
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds lovely Sophie! I love pecans. The buttercream should be fine at room temperature. And yes, best to keep cakes out of the fridge when possible. I’d just do the final swirls of whipped cream only when serving. Can’t wait to see the pic! ☺️
Sophie Bertelli says
Making this cake for my daughter’s 19th birthday tomorrow. She loves white chocolate buttercream and I think the brown sugar will give a nice twist to the cake. I hope I will melt the chocolate for the frosting, and it is smooth
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sophie! I hope you and your daughter enjoy the cake! ❤️ I’d love to see a pic, if you share it on Instagram, use the hashtag #sweetestmenu so I can see!
Chris says
Do I completely cool before adding eggs or just slightly cool?
Jessica Holmes says
Just slightly Chris! So it’s not hot to the touch, it’s fine if it’s still a little warm.
Sarah says
Hi,
I was planning on making this as a kind of ‘easter cake’ and decorating it with easter goodies, (I know chocolate is generally the standard flavour for Easter but I love caramel flavoured things!). I was just wondering, did you use 8″ sandwich cake tins or just regular 8″ cake tins that are slightly deeper? 🙂 🙂 Thank you!!x
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah! Excited you are going to make this cake for Easter! I just use regular 8 inch cake pans for this one ☺️
Cynthia Okine says
Hi Jessica I want to make this recipe bigger a 12 ” cake tin how much ingredients would i need for the recipe pls thank you x
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Cynthia, this cake recipe has been specifically tested as an 8 inch cake. If you made it in two x 12 inch tins, you’d end up with a much thinner cake. Alternatively, you could double the cake recipe but this would alter the cooking time. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help because I haven’t tested it in a 12 inch pan myself.