Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (2024)

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I recently did a baby shower where all I served was desserts. I promised you all the recipes, and

I swear I am building up to the shower. I had intended to have a sweet week where I just showed all the dessert recipes one after another. However, I thought you might get bored of that. Also, I was distracted by our character development series and Valentine’s day, so I’ve had other content I’ve wanted to give you. For the shower, I did mini-cupcakes with a salted carmel buttercream as one of the options. The concept was to do a bunch of mini desserts so that people could sample a few different things. A friend of mine is a chef. We were talking the other day about baking, as she has enjoyed more of the pastry side of her job lately. She said, “I have a mean salted caramel recipe, and I don’t say ‘I have a mean…’ about anything.” I asked if she would be willing to share, and she was. I made it, and she was right. It is really good. I haven’t experimented much with buttercream, but I’m glad I gave it a chance. It was a hit at the shower. Part of this recipe includes making a caramel, which can be challenging. I added photos to help walk you through the process.

The first step is to make your caramel.

Caramel Recipe

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp water

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp sea salt

1. Combine sugar and water and cook on medium high heat. Stir just until the sugar dissolves.

2. Don’t stir when boiling and getting darker.

3. When caramel is a nice, dark amber color remove from heat. Gently whisk in heavy cream and swirl in butter.

4. Add sea salt. Return to low heat and whisk until smooth.

5. Let cool so it is cool to the touch.

6. This caramel will thicken as it cools, and that is OK for the buttercream as long as it doesn’t thicken too much.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

Caramel sauce (made as directed above) – should be just cool to the touch

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

5-6 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients together until fully combined.

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Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (4)

ABOUT JODI

Wife of the perfect partner for me. Mother of Three. Lover of fun, creativity, cooking, adventure, puzzles, games, family but most importantly Jesus. I run the blog Meaningful Mama. The heart of my blog is the character development series for teaching kids. The icing on the top consists of parenting tips, crafts, recipes, cakes and more. Read more...

  • Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (5)
  • Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (6)
  • Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (7)
  • Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (8)
  • Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (9)

Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (10)
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11 years ago

WOWZERS! and YES PLEASE! After chocolate, caramel is my second favorite ANYthing and EVERYthing…I am sooo tickled you were willing to share this. Pinning for now..making soon. Swoon!

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11 years ago

*Groan*… salted caramel is definitely one of my favorite things! Thank you so much for sharing this!

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11 years ago

These look amazing! I pinned them to my Yummy Yummy board. (Appropriate, I thought!) 🙂

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11 years ago

Love this! I’d like to invite you to link up to Saturday Spotlight @ Angels Homestead.

http://angelshomestead.com/saturday-spotlight-4/

Hope to see you there 🙂

April

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11 years ago

I have never made this! Looks so delicious! I should try it!
Super cute blog!
I would love if you link this to my link party Monday morning!
XO
Isabelle
http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.com/

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11 years ago

Thank you for linking to Mom’s Library last week! I have featured this post at http://www.crystalstinytreasures.com/wordpress

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11 years ago

Looks delicious, Jodi. Would love for you to share at my linky party going on right now. http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/2013/02/tasty-thursdays-29.html

Thanks, Nichi – The Mandatory Mooch

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diana

11 years ago

sound delish! did you use 1 1/2 stick of salted or unsalted butter for the buttercream?

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jodidurr

Author

Reply to diana

11 years ago

I used unsalted butter. Really good question. That said, I never mind a little extra salt in my salted carmel. I hope you enjoy it.

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Steve

10 years ago

This recipe is terrible! It broke my kitchenaide mixer. Whoever created this recipe should have to replace my mixer. DO NOT TRY THIS RECIPE OF YOU LIKE YIUR KITCHEN APPLIANCES!!!

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jodidurr

Author

Reply to Steve

10 years ago

Oh wow. I didn’t have this experience at all. I’m so sorry for what happened to you.

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9 years ago

I can’t believe I finally found an easy and very delicious looking recipe for both caramel butter-cream and salted caramel sauce! I’m in heaven and I haven’t even made it yet. Oh the things these are going to top! Thanks so much and I am very new to your blog I actually found it by watching the Frugal Crafter’s Youtube channel, thanks to her I am your very newest fan!

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jodidurr

Author

Reply to SUSIE LALONDE

9 years ago

I hope you enjoy these recipes. I absolutely love carmel too. Frugal Crafter looks like she has a lot of great stuff. Glad to know about her now!

Reply

Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe & How to Make Caramel (2024)

FAQs

What is caramel icing made of? ›

Ingredients for Homemade Caramel Frosting

Granulated sugar: You can't have caramel without sugar. As the sugar cooks, it caramelizes and deepens, providing an irresistible flavor. All-purpose flour: Helps thicken the frosting. Whole milk: Helps thin the hot caramel for a smooth consistency.

Can you buy caramel buttercream? ›

Over The Top Buttercream is a luxury buttercream icing formula that gives superior piping consistency with a smooth, lump-free texture. This buttercream has a delicious rich caramel flavour and is perfect for filling your cake layers, piping onto cupcakes, and comes in a convenient ready-to-use container.

How do you make store bought caramel frosting better? ›

7 Ways to Make Canned Frosting Taste Homemade
  1. Whip the frosting. arinahabich/Getty Images. ...
  2. Thin it out. Since canned frosting is typically super thick, another way to get it to taste homemade is to make it thinner. ...
  3. Flavor with extract. ...
  4. Make it extra smooth. ...
  5. Add a pinch of salt. ...
  6. Give it more texture. ...
  7. Add color.
Apr 2, 2021

Why is my caramel not hardening? ›

If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough. Again place the caramel back into a sauce pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to 244°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test with a cold water test.

Is caramel just sugar and water? ›

Wet caramel is made by combining sugar and a liquid and cooking them together, while dry caramel is made from just sugar, heated in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns.

What is the difference between salted caramel and caramel? ›

Salted caramel is often used as a topping for desserts or as a filling for candies and chocolates. In summary, the main difference between caramel and salted caramel is the presence of salt in the latter. Caramel is sweet and has a rich, buttery flavor, while salted caramel has a slightly savory edge to its sweetness.

What are the three types of caramel? ›

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

What is the hardest buttercream to make? ›

Italian Meringue Buttercream

This is considered one of the very difficult methods for making buttercream because the sugar syrup must be cooked to a specific temperature and then, while piping hot, poured into the whipped egg whites.

How do you make store-bought frosting taste like bakery? ›

Depending on what kind of cake you're making, try stirring a spoonful of any of the following into the frosting:
  1. Peanut butter.
  2. Cookie butter.
  3. Chocolate-hazelnut spread.
  4. Dulce de leche.
  5. Caramel sauce.
  6. Lemon curd.
  7. Fruit jam.
Mar 5, 2024

How do you make caramel frosting not grainy? ›

Corn syrup prevents our caramel frosting from becoming grainy. Don't skip it! Salt. Without salt, caramel has a flat, much too sweet flavor, so salt is a necessity!

How do you keep caramel from seizing when adding cream? ›

If too many bits of sugar get stuck to the side of the pan, they will harden and can cause the caramel to seize or become gritty or grainy when you add in the butter and/or the cream. Prevent this by gently swirling the sugar around as it melts, while holding the pan's handle, instead of using a utensil to stir it.

How do you thicken runny caramel? ›

For each cup (240 mL) of caramel sauce that you need to thicken, run 1 tbsp (14.7 mL) of cold water into a measuring cup, and slowly stir in 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Pour the cornstarch mixture into your pot caramel sauce, and stir constantly. Keep the sauce on low heat until it begins to thicken.

How do you make caramel less runny? ›

Melt 200g of butter in the microwave (in a large microwavable bowl) for 2-3 minutes, then add the condensed milk and golden syrup. Whisk the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Heat for 6-7 minutes until it is boiling, stirring thoroughly every minute.

What helps thicken buttercream? ›

The easiest and most straightforward way to fix buttercream that is too runny is to simply add more powdered sugar. I always work with an American Buttercream recipe for this reason. American Buttercream has a higher sugar to fat ratio than a typical buttercream recipe.

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