One of my favorite things to do with my homemade salted caramel recipe is incorporate it into buttercream. It ends up being such an awesome blend of sweet and salty, perfect for topping cakes and cupcakes or using as a cake filling. It can transform basic cake flavors like chocolate and vanilla into something above and beyond, and it also adds complexity to Fall-inspired flavors like apple spice cake. Whatever flavors you love pairing with caramel, this salted caramel buttercream is magic!
It all starts with a great homemade salted caramel recipe, like this one. It’s only four ingredients, easy as can be, and you don’t even need a candy thermometer to make it! 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 premade salted caramel sauces that tend to be overly sweet, because they might send the sweetness level of this buttercream way over the top.
When you’ve got your salted caramel made and ready to go, make sure you give it enough time for cooling to room temperature before you add it into the buttercream recipe. It’ll be very hot and runny when you remove it from the stove, and allowing it to cool will not only ensure that your buttercream doesn’t melt into soup, but the caramel will get thicker and more flavorful as it sets. If you prefer to make the salted caramel ahead of time, that’s fine too! You can store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in an airtight container, then when you’re ready to make the buttercream, just microwave it in 15 second intervals to bring it back to room temperature.
Once your ingredients are all room temperature and ready to go, all you need is a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and about fifteen minutes from start to finish. 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
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) salted caramel at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- 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, the salted caramel, and salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined.
Notes
- 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!