One of my favorite things to do with my homemade salted caramel recipe is incorporate it into buttercream. The flavor ends up an awesome blend of sweet and salty, and the consistency is perfect for topping cakes and cupcakes or using as a cake filling. It can transform basic flavors like chocolate cake and vanilla cake into something above and beyond, and it also adds complexity to Fall-inspired flavors like apple spice cake and pumpkin cake. Whatever flavors you love pairing with caramel, this salted caramel buttercream is magic!
One Reader, Stellis, says: “Oh. My. Goodness!! Earlier I made the salted caramel (and left rave reviews) and I just finished making this to frost my dark chocolate cake and it is perfection! I could literally eat this buttercream by itself!” ★★★★★
Why You’ll Love This Salted Caramel Buttercream
- Ideal for Cake Decorating. This buttercream ends up the perfect consistency for filling and stacking cakes, frosting a smooth buttercream finish, piping onto cupcakes, adding as a layer under fondant, creating buttercream borders, and more!
- Delicious Salty-Sweet Flavor. This buttercream tastes just like salted caramel in frosting form!
- Perfect Excuse to Make Homemade Caramel. But it’s always a good time to make caramel from scratch, especially when you realize how easy my salted caramel recipe is.
- Easy to Make. Once you make the salted caramel and let it cool to room temperature, the salted caramel buttercream recipe is super straightforward. You’ll essentially whip the butter until creamy, combine it with powdered sugar, then add the salted caramel, vanilla, and salt. Easy peasy.
Salted Caramel Buttercream Ingredients
- Salt. A pinch of salt helps balance the sweetness and adds to the salty-sweet flavor even more.
- Unsalted Butter. This is the base of the buttercream and gives the frosting a rich buttery flavor and velvety smooth texture. If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use that instead and omit the salt at the end of the recipe.
- Powdered Sugar. This adds stability to the frosting while sweetening. I like to use less powdered sugar than the average American buttercream so that the frosting doesn’t end up cloyingly sweet, but if you’d like it even less sweet you can reduce the powdered sugar amount by up to ½ cup (60g). Just keep in mind that the consistency of the buttercream will be thinner.
- Salted Caramel. The buttercream gets its flavor from homemade salted caramel. It’s the perfect thickness for adding to the frosting without thinning out the consistency, plus the flavor is out of this world!
- Pure Vanilla Extract. A little vanilla enhances the flavor of this salted caramel buttercream beautifully.
How to Make Homemade Salted Caramel
This recipe starts with making a batch of my easy homemade salted caramel. It’s only four ingredients: granulated sugar, unsalted butter, heavy whipping cream, and salt. I love that this recipe comes together in minutes with simple techniques, and you don’t even need a candy thermometer to make it! I recommend reading through the entire recipe beforehand so you know what to expect, but here’s a simplified version of how to make it:
- Melt the sugar. Add the granulated sugar into a medium saucepan set over medium heat and stir frequently until it melts into an amber colored liquid.
- Add the butter. Whisk the butter into the melted sugar until the mixture is uniform, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the heavy whipping cream. Whisk in the heavy whipping cream, then let the mixture boil for one minute without stirring it.
- Add the salt. Whisk the salt in and remove the salted caramel from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.
Making the salted caramel from scratch is the key to this beautiful caramel buttercream flavor, so if you have your own favorite salted caramel recipe, feel free to incorporate it into the buttercream recipe below. Just avoid pre-made salted caramel sauces that tend to be overly sweet, because they might send the sweetness level of this buttercream way over the top.
How to Make Salted Caramel Buttercream
Once the salted caramel has cooled to room temperature, the salted caramel buttercream takes just about 10 minutes to make. It’s as simple as this:
- Whip the Butter.
- Add the Powdered Sugar
- Add the (Cooled) Salted Caramel, Vanilla, and Salt.
- Mix Until Smooth.
The process is about as basic as it gets when it comes to an American buttercream recipe, but the end result is buttery salted caramel magic that you’ll want to eat by the spoonful!
Salted Caramel Buttercream FAQs
- Do I have to make the salted caramel from scratch? If you have a favorite store-bought caramel sauce, feel free to substitute it instead! I like to use homemade salted caramel because I can count on it being perfectly thick and not overly sweet, so the resulting buttercream is the perfect consistency and has the ideal caramel flavor.
Can I color this buttercream? Yes, but note that the buttercream starts as a beige color. This means that whatever color you add may be slightly muted because of the beige undertone. - How do I store salted caramel buttercream? You can store this buttercream in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Before you’re ready to use it, thaw it to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed until it’s smooth and creamy.
- What happens if I add less powdered sugar than the recipe calls for? The powdered sugar adds thickness and stability to this recipe, and I’ve already reduced it to account for the sweetness of the caramel. If you’d like it even less sweet you can reduce the powdered sugar amount by up to ½ cup (60g), but note that the buttercream will be thinner in consistency.
Cake Flavors to Pair with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Here are some of my favorite cake recipes to pair with this salted caramel buttercream. The recipe makes enough to frost about 15 cupcakes, fill and crumb coat a layer cake, or frost and decorate a layer cake. One batch will be enough for any of the cupcake recipes below, but if you’re planning on filling and frosting any of the layer cakes listed, be sure to double the recipe.
- One-Bowl Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Cupcakes
- Apple Spice Cake
- Salted Caramel Apple Cake
- Pumpkin Layer Cake or Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Spiced Vanilla Chai Cake
- Vanilla Cake
- Coffee Layer Cake
I hope you love this salted caramel buttercream recipe as much as I do! Let me know what you pair it with in the comments below (be sure to leave a star rating!) and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me if you post a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Salted Caramel Buttercream
Ingredients
Homemade Salted Caramel
- 1 Cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into slices
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) salted caramel, room temperature recipe above
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Make the Salted Caramel
- Have everything pre-measured and ready to go (you’ll be constantly stirring). Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until it melts into an amber-colored liquid and no sugar clumps remain, 5-6 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Carefully add the butter (it will bubble up when you do) and use a whisk to combine it with the sugar mixture until the butter is fully melted and incorporated, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream while whisking. As soon as the cream is incorporated, let the caramel boil for a full minute before removing it from the heat and stirring in the salt.
- Pour the salted caramel into a glass jar or container and refrigerate until room temperature, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can make this element ahead and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It will thicken as it cools and solidify when cold. If needed, bring it back to room temperature by gently heating in the microwave in 10 second increments, stirring after each one, until room temperature and pourable.
Make the Salted Caramel Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high until it’s creamy and light in color, 5-6 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each interval.
- With the mixer still on low, mix in the vanilla extract, salted caramel, and salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
Notes
- The salted caramel can be made ahead and stored ahead in an airtight glass jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. When you’re ready to use it, reheat it in the microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring after each one, until room temperature and pourable.
- The salted caramel buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed to bring it back to smooth buttercream consistency.
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.
Hello. Silly me put the salted caramel into the buttercream and it was still a tiny bit like warm is there a way or getting the buttercream thick and creamy again please?
Hi Stacy! If it’s thinned out due to warmth of the caramel I would just put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to let it cool down and then re-whip it. Let me know how it goes!
I would love to try this. Do you think I can color this frosting yellow or blue and the colors will turn out ok?
Thanks!
Hi Carin! Since this buttercream has a beige base, any color you add to it will mix with beige. I think adding yellow would make it more of a mustard color but adding blue might be ok, you’ll definitely end up with more of a murkier blue than if you were to add the food coloring to a pure white buttercream. Hope that makes sense!
Thanks Whitney! That’s what I was thinking but thought I would ask. I’m going for a deeper yellow and blue so I’m hoping it will work out ok. I may try a small batch and test it out. Thank you!
hello! Can I make this buttercream with a standard mixer that does not have the paddle attachment?
Hi Laura! It depends on what kind of attachment you are using instead of the paddle. I think a whisk attachment would work fine!
Can you use this recipe in between macaron shells?
You totally can, Amanda! That would be so tasty!
Search for “ sugar and sparrow salted caramel buttercream” on Pinterest and you will find quite a few pins using your photo but they aren’t linked to your site. I suggest you report they are using your intellectual property to Pinterest.
I searched the web to find your real website since you had its name on your picture. Thank you – i will try your recipe soon – it looks fantastic.
Thanks so much for the heads up! Excited for you to try this recipe!
Sweet Mary, Joesph and baby Jesus. This is good
Yay, Krystal! So happy you love it as much as I do!
Can I use margarine for this recipe? I live in a place where you cant find butter easily and its super expensive.
Hi Noemi! You can substitute margarine, although I’ve never done that before so I don’t know how it will taste. Let me know how it goes!
I came here looking for a yummy caramel frosting to go on apple cider cupcakes. The recipe called for a brown sugar buttercream, that was a weird texture for me personally. I think this salted caramel frosting is exactly what an apple cider cupcake is screaming for!!
Hi Tiffany! I bet the salted caramel frosting is perfect on those apple cider cupcakes!! I’m gonna have to try that sometime.
Ever since I heard about salted caramel buttercream from a local baker, I’ve been itching to make this! This morning I did (for a Halloween layer cake I’m making for tonight’s party). I have an electric stove and the sugar got hot too fast on medium high and burnt before I realized it was happening. Round two on medium heat throughout the process was a success (just took a little longer)! It tasted delicious on the spoon and I can’t wait to taste the buttercream later!
So happy you had success with this recipe, Lisa! It’s one of my very favorites. Hope it was a hit at the Halloween party!
I just tried both the salted caramel and the SC buttercream frosting. Your descriptions were very accurate and helpful! I used the frosting to frost my husband’s 66th BD cake. Both recipes turned out perfectly! Thank you for posting! Super yummy!
That’s amazing, Carol! So happy you love the recipes!!
I’m not a big frosting person – I typically scrape off about 80% of it on cakes (even when I make them)… BUT this? This is amazing. Seriously, so good. I just licked the entire paddle after making it (don’t tell my kids). I may develop diabetes by the end of this fall because I plan on making this a lot. Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s so wonderful to hear, Alex! Haha I feel the same way about this recipe. So happy it was a hit!
This looks so delicious! What an easy way to doctor up something simple!
Thanks, Suzanne! I hope you get the chance to try it!
Also left a comment on the salted caramel recipe – which I used for this and it was amazing with my banana cake, which everyone agreed. Substituted sea salt flakes as can’t get kosher salt, and it was lovely every now and again a tiny taste of it! Smell of the caramel in the icing was dizzying! Thanks for a couple of great recipes. Don’t normally provide feedback but couldn’t see much from people who had already made it so thought help to add one having had such success with this!
Those cake flavors sound amaaazing! So happy you loved the recipes and thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi, would this be enough to fill and cover a 4 layer 8 inch cake?
Hi Jemma! For a 4 layer 8-inch cake I would double the recipe and it should be the perfect amount.
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it out
Oh my!! This is amazing! The directions were spot on, and I’m in love with the caramel and the frosting! This will be my go to recipe. I’m overjoyed, thank you for sharing!
Yay, Connie!! So happy you love the recipe and the instructions were easy to follow!