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This Caramel Sheet Cake with Caramel Icing is pure dessert bliss! A soft, buttery cake is infused with rich caramel flavor and topped with a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth caramel icing that seeps into every bite. The combination of warm brown sugar, vanilla, and creamy caramel creates the perfect balance of sweetness. This easy-to-make sheet cake is ideal for potlucks, birthdays, or just because you’re craving something irresistibly good. One bite, and you’ll be hooked!
I love a great sheet cake recipe. The ratio of cake to frosting is delightful and they are so easy to make!
I also love how you can get up to 20 servings out of them. So great to take along to a pot luck, family party or friendly get together of any kind.
Look at the beautiful texture on that icing. Yum! It reminds me of a fabulous caramel cake my Grandma used to make. So, so good.
Hope you get a chance to try it!
Looking for more sheet cake recipes? Here are a few of our favorites.
Ingredients
- CAKE INGREDIENTS:
- 1 C butter (salted)
- 1 C water
- 2 C brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 C flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 C sour cream
- 2 eggs
- ICING INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 C butter, salted
- 3 1/2 C brown sugar
- 3/4 C heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
CAKE INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- To make the cake, grab a large sheet pan (mine is 11x16). Spray it generously with cooking spray.
- Grab a medium sized sauce pan and heat it up over medium high heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the water and brown sugar. Stir well to combine.
- Continue to heat through, stirring occasionally until you have achieved a rolling boil. (Meaning, it bubbles all along the top of the mixture, not just at the sides). Remove it from the heat when it comes to a full boil.
- Let it sit on the counter and cool for about 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and stir it in to combine.
- Add 2 C of flour to the pan, without stirring it in. Directly on top of the flour sprinkle the salt and baking soda. Toss it together with a fork until combined.
- Use a rubber spatula or whisk to stir the flour mixture into the warm butter/brown sugar mixture, making sure there are no lumps visible.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream. Add this mixture to the cake batter and stir until incorporated.
- Pour it into the baking pan and bake for 12-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes.
ICING INSTRUCTIONS
- Grab another sauce pan and heat it over medium high heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt.
- Add the brown sugar, heavy cream and salt, stirring to combine. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once it comes to a boil, stir it constantly and watch for it to thicken. This usually takes 3-10 minutes, depending on how high the heat is. You can test it by dipping the back of a spoon into the mixture. When it coats the back of the spoon, you have cooked it long enough. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and place the hot pan into the bowl, being careful to not let any water get into the pan. Now, ladies and gentlemen...we are going to stir, my fiends. Stir the icing constantly for 3-5 minutes, scraping the edges of the pan every so often. When the icing starts to stiffen up, but is still warm and pourable, pour it over the top of the slightly cooled cake and spread it to the edges. Make sure you don't let it cool too much. It will harden up on you in the pan, making it hard to pour.
- Let the icing set for at least a few minutes before you slice and serve. It's delicious served warm with ice cream, or even the next day.
Enjoy!
Recipe from The Food Charlatan
Jamie, goodness, I ate this cake when I sub taught in Layton, Utah. it was occasionally the dessert for cafeteria lunch. My husband was stationed at Hill Air Force Base in 1971 and1972. We lived on Green Street and now are back home again in Indiana. It was my favorite cake then and I am so excited to have this recipe now. I certainly miss the mountains and lovely Utah blue skies. I have tried finding this treasured recipe for many years and here it is. Thanks very much!
My icing is very grainy- I boiled it until it clung to the back of the spoon. Any suggestions? I love all your recipes, but somehow I messed up m this one. Help!