Caramel Corn Drip Cake
A fun Caramel Corn Drip Cake recipe with an optional surprise caramel corn center, cream cheese frosting, and a caramel drip!
Equipment
- 1 10 inch cardboard cake circle (an 8-inch circle will work; I just find moving cakes easier on larger circles)
- medium biscuit cutter (or glass; to remove centers from 2 cake layers - optional)
- Squeeze bottle (or piping bag or spoon; to add drip)
Ingredients
Caramel Corn Cake layers
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks, softened)
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ Tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
Caramel Cream Cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package; softened)
- 1 cup butter (two sticks, softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 2 Tablespoons Caramel sauce
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
Drip & Decorations
- 1 jar caramel sauce (linked is a brand I like because it's fairly thick - though I like to make my own because it's even thicker and stays in better drips! Thin caramel sauce will make 'slug trail' drips and a puddle at the bottom of your cake...not recommended.)
- 2-3 cups caramel corn (you can buy this or make your own)
Instructions
Caramel Corn Cake layers
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Prepare three 8-inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add vanilla, eggs and egg whites and beat well, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and mix until well combined.
- (Word to the wise - DON'T try to get all fancy adding caramel sauce to your cake batter! I tried, and ended up with three cake layers that dissolved into CRUMBS when I tried to remove them from the pans. Yeahhh. Fail.sauce.)
- Divide batter between pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; about 25-30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before decorating. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
- Caramel corn surprise center optional as well.....but recommended! To fill the cake center with caramel corn, use a glass or medium-sized biscuit cutter to remove center from two of the three cake layers.
Caramel Cream Cheese frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk, caramel sauce, and vanilla extract until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. Add salt if needed and beat until well combined and smooth.
Assembly
- Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed; these layers usually bake fairly flat). Add a smear of frosting to your cake circle, and center your first layer on the circle. (If you've cut centers out of two of your cake layers, those will be your bottom two layers). Spread the first layer with frosting, and fill the empty center with caramel corn. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers, adding the final layer on top!
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like - a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer.
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is well covered, place it into the fridge or freezer for at least 10-15 minutes - this sets the frosting and makes the caramel drip set more quickly.
Decorating
- Transfer caramel to a squeeze bottle or piping bag (or get your spoon ready!) Make sure your cake is chilled - I think I probably left mine in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, and I've heard putting your cake in the freezer for 10-20 minutes is a good way to get drips to set. I warmed my caramel just slightly (about 5 seconds in the microwave) to thin it so it would pipe a bit more easily. Slowly pipe the caramel around the upper edge of the cake, pausing every inch or so to let more caramel fall in a drip down the side of the cake. Return cake to the fridge to set the drips.
- With small bits of caramel or frosting, create a caramel corn 'mound' and rim around the top of the cake. You can leave an empty space for candles if you'd like! Refrigerate until ready to serve, and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 786kcalCarbohydrates: 102gProtein: 9gFat: 38g
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