Butterscotch Caramel Cake

For the past little while, I’ve been tweaking recipes to come up with the perfect butterscotch caramel cake.  Searching online for ‘caramel cake’ seemed to only give me results for vanilla cake with caramel frosting.  I wanted a caramel-flavoured sponge – oh, and not made with butterscotch pudding mix (although I didn’t try it – but I imagine it would be good).  Either way, here’s the recipe I created for an actual butterscotch caramel cake sponge that’s uber dense and delicious.

Every year for the last little while, I’ve entered the Sudbury Food Bank’s Art of Dessert event as a cake baker.  There are silent auctions for pies, cookies and various items – but the cakes are done in a proper auction at the end of the evening.  I’m definitely not a professional baker, although it is fun to come up with a different concept each year.

Funnily enough, I go in thinking ‘this will be the last time’ (we don’t live in Sudbury anymore – that’s the main challenge for me). But I always get the itch for my new idea by the end of the night.  This year, I came up with a mixed-holiday cake (Halloween and Christmas) in a caramel, peanut butter and chocolate flavour.

For the event, you need to make a main cake that is auctioned off and four mini-cakes (or slices) for the judge tasting.  Honestly, that’s the job I’d like, ha.  Anyways, this year I made six layers of cake and then iced them all together before assembling my cakes.

Caramel Cake Description

What happens when holidays collide?  Halloween has just gone by, and Christmas is on the way – but this cake works for both occasions!  It’s a holiday explosion of all the best flavours :)

When you think of your favourite candy bar – do you envision the perfect combination of chocolate, peanut butter and caramel!?  If so, then look no further than this delicious and very decadent cake!   

Four layers of dense butterscotch caramel fudge sponge with yummy peanut butter frosting and dark chocolate ganache drizzle in between; all covered with a brown butter black cocoa buttercream.  Decorated with peanut brittle pieces, this rich cake should be served in thin slices.  Enjoy sparingly :p  

One of my earlier versions of the cake was brought over for Thanksgiving (Canadian thanksgiving is in October).  And it was a hit with the family.

When I envisioned this cake originally, I wanted more of a caramel explosion from one side.  But it was easier to space the peanut brittle all around.  For the judge’s cake, I cut my two layers in half to make a semi-circle and decorated it sideways – which was a bit tricky.

The photos I took were from the leftover cake I had from that – since all my test versions hadn’t been decorated fully/nicely.  Félix helped me take photos and enjoyed the cake while the other two were unawares.

Print Recipe

Butterscotch Caramel Cake

Dessert

By Nicole Q-Schmitz – Serves: 20

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 20-24 minutes – Total Time: 40 minutes

Delicious and dense butterscotch caramel fudge sponge cake recipe can be frosted and decorated how you like. This rich cake is similar to a brownie and should be served in thin slices. 

Ingredients

• ½ pack of butterscotch chips (135g total)
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp caramel extract (optional)

Instructions

1

Preheat Oven to 350º

2

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt – set aside

3

Using a double boiler, melt butterscotch chips and butter and stir to combine

4

Remove from heat, add sugar and beat well

5

Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition, then vanilla extract (and caramel if using)

6

Combine flour mixture with wet mixture, mixing well

7

Pour batter into two greased + parchment bottomed 8” round baking pans (approx. 21 ounces including pan)

8

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until toothpick inserted is crumbly, but not wet

9

Let cool and set for a few minutes; then transfer to wire rack to cool completely

10

Frost as desired

Notes

Makes 2 layers of 8" round cake

I hope you enjoy making this butterscotch caramel cake!  As I mentioned, the cake comes out more dense (brownie-like) than light and spongy, so it’s quite heavy.  Even so, it’s really rich and delicious and can be frosted with different icings rather than what I shared.

Some of my versions included plain vanilla buttercream, maple-bacon frosting, black cocoa.  And my mother-in-law made this cake for her parents with an apple-frosting, yum!

Related Recipes (from past auctions!):

• Rainbow Flavoured Cake
• Seasonal Cakes
• Coco-Pumpkin Crunch Cake