When I was recipe testing for my Twix cake, I knew I needed a caramel filling that was reminiscent of the candy bar. It had to be extra thick (but not too thick), creamy and spreadable, irresistibly gooey, with just the right vanilla-caramel flavor. So, I researched a lot and tested so many recipes, tweaking things until the caramel was exactly what I was imagining. If you’re looking for a thick caramel filling for cakes and cupcakes, this is it!
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The Recipe Tests
I was originally planning on using my easy salted caramel recipe for my Twix cake. However, after making it I realized, while it was absolutely delicious and does make a great cake filling, it didn’t have the vanilla-based flavor profile I was looking for, nor the thick and gooey consistency. So I played around with a lot of different variables: brown sugar vs. white sugar, different amounts of heavy whipping cream, the temperature the caramel reached in the cooking process, so many combinations that I had to run back to the grocery store multiple times to get more ingredients and try again.
But after testing, tweaking, and lots of waiting for the experiments to come to room temperature so I could really see the consistency, I finally ended up with this recipe. In the end, this is so easy to make, thick and gooey, perfectly sweet, and ideal for filling cakes.
Perfectly Thick Caramel Filling
This caramel filling recipe couldn’t be easier to make. You essentially add all of the ingredients (except for the vanilla) into a large saucepan, melt them together, and cook them until the mixture boils and thickens. It helps to have a thermometer so that you can ensure the caramel reaches 225ºF/107ºC, but it’s not totally necessary so long as you follow the recipe timing in the instructions. It turns out that temperature matters a lot when it comes to the final outcome of the caramel – the higher the temperature reached in the cooking process, the firmer the caramel will set at room temperature.
After all my testing, I think that 225ºF/107ºC makes the perfect spreadable filling consistency for this caramel. It will seem pretty thin right after you make it, but will thicken perfectly as it cools.
This recipe makes a little more than enough to fill a triple 6-inch or 8-inch layer cake, and as a bonus, you can also use it as a drip! At room temperature, it’s the perfect consistency to spread between cake layers, but it can also be heated slightly to make a beautiful (extra thick) caramel drip.
Tips for Caramel Success
This recipe is extremely easy to make, but I do have a few tips that will make it fail proof:
- Use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients by weight. This will yield the most accurate measurements.
- Stir the ingredients continuously with a silicone spatula throughout the entire recipe. My first attempts were done with a whisk and I wasn’t able to properly scrape the bottom of the bowl, which resulted in brown sugar getting trapped in the edges of the saucepan and burning.
- Use a thermometer to check that the temperature of the caramel reaches 225ºF/107ºC. Any cooler and the caramel won’t be as thick when it sets, and hotter and the caramel will be too thick and chewy when it sets.
- To make sure your caramel filling doesn’t bulge out from between cake layers, follow the soft fillings portion of this filling and stacking tutorial. It will help you add structure to your layer cake and keep all that glorious filling where it belongs.
Cake Recipes Featuring Thick Caramel Filling
I’ve used this thick caramel filling in the following cake recipes, but you can truly pair it with anything that could use some caramel flavor:
Thick Caramel Recipe Video
Here’s a full video tutorial that walks you through the recipe:
If you love recipe videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! I’ve got a growing collection of cake recipes, decorating tutorials, and Cake Basics over there. Hit the subscribe button on my page so you never miss a new video.
Thick Caramel Filling
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter
- 1 Cup (200g) packed brown sugar light or dark
- 2/3 Cup (210g, 160ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 Cup (80ml) light corn syrup or golden syrup
- 5 Tbsp (75ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the sweetened condensed milk, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy whipping cream, and salt. Stir with a rubber spatula constantly until the mixture is fully combined and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the caramel begins to thicken, 6-7 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you’ll want to cook this until it reaches 225F/107C. That is the temperature that will thicken the caramel while keeping it nice and soft at room temperature.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract. Pour into a separate container and let the caramel cool completely to room temperature before using it to fill the cake. You can either leave the container on the counter for about 2 hours or speed the cooling process slightly by placing the container in the refrigerator. It will thicken significantly as it cools.
- Pro Tip: since this filling recipe is so soft, be sure to follow the soft fillings tutorial in this blog post to add structure to your layer cake in the filling and stacking process. This way you'll never have to worry about filling bulging out from between cake layers
Notes
I hope you love this thick caramel filling as much as I do! If you do end up making it, let me know how it went in the comments below + be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!
I don’t normally leave comments on recipes, but I’ve tried to make caramel plenty of times before and I’ve never found a recipe with the correct texture that I was looking for or taste & this absolutely reached both of those points. It has the perfect texture and taste. I will definitely be saving this for repeatedly future use for my baking business orders. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Yay, Amber!! That makes me so happy!
Hi Whitney,
Can this filling be whipped to pipe with for a whipped caramel? I have to make a caramel swirl gateau and I want to whip the caramel to pipe swirls with it.
Hi Riana! That sounds amaaazing. I haven’t tried it, so whipping the caramel would be an experiment. Let me know if you try it though, now I’m curious!
Hi, Whitney. Can I try this recile without corn syrup? Do you recommend a substitute for it? Thank you!
Hi Mary! The corn syrup is what keeps this caramel soft yet thick at room temperature. I haven’t tested any substitutes for it, so I can’t make any solid recommendations.
Oh no, Ana! Is it rock hard when cold or at room temperature? And did you leave any ingredients out or substitute anything? If it’s hard when cold, all you’ll need to do is warm it up in 15 second increments in the microwave until spreadable.
All I have here is half and half. Will this work in place of the heavy cream?
Hi Deidra! I haven’t tried it with half and half before, so it would be an experiment. My hunch is that it won’t be as thick. Hope that helps!
I made this last night to use between carrot cake layers. Color and flavor are great. Its a bit thick. How do you recommend thinning this just a bit? Adding a little warm cream or swt cond milk? Or should I Add a little of my cream cheese frosting to it to thin it out?
Hi Pattie! If you want it to be thinner I would add a little warm cream to it. Heat it in the microwave first so that it’s easy to mix the cream in, then let it cool down to room temperature again.
Wondering can you put this sauce on top of a crust, then add cheesecake filling and then bake the cheesecake? How do you think the caramel will do while baking?
Hi Malissa! I haven’t tried that but I have a feeling it would work and be absolutely delicious!
Hello 🙂
I’ve just tried youe recipe and after the caramel was cold I’ve noticed I forgot to add the golden syrup. Do you think I could war everything up and add the brown syrup?
Thank you in advance and best wishes,
Ella
Hi Ella! Warming the caramel and stirring in the golden syrup is worth a try, although I’ve never done it that way before so I’m not sure exactly how it will go. I think the only risk is overcooking the caramel which can make it extra thick at room temperature, but it’s worth a shot unless you want to remake the whole recipe.
Could I use this caramel to make caramel buttercream?
Hi Kate! Yes, you can use it in place of the salted caramel in this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/salted-caramel-buttercream-recipe/
I made this and the taste and texture were perfect, but the color of mine wasn’t the beautiful amber color that your’s was. Mine was a very light pale tan. Any idea what my problem was? I cooked it until the candy thermometer read 225. How do I get the lovely amber color?
Hi Kristy! It sounds like you did everything right. The only way to get a darker color is to cook it a little longer (the mixture usually plateaus at 225F and takes a few minutes to rise above that) or try using dark brown sugar next time. That will give the flavor even more depth and also darken the color slightly. Hope that helps!
Hey Whitney!! This looks SO good. I want to double the recipe and put it in a three-layer eight-inch cake. If there are leftovers, can I microwave or heat it over a double boiler like you would for ganache then use it as a drip?? Thanks!
Hi Addie! This recipe makes enough to fill a three layer 8-inch cake with leftovers for drip as-is, so no need to double! And yes, you can definitely heat the leftovers in 5-10 second intervals until it’s ideal drip consistency. Enjoy!
Need a caramel filling for chocolate cupcakes and every recipe I’ve tried, the caramel is absorbed into cake..even when put in fridge. I need a sauce that will stay thick inside the cupcake so gooey when bitten into. Will your recipe keep that consistency? Thank you.
Hi Chris! Yes, this caramel stays nice and soft even when refrigerated, but so thick that it won’t get absorbed into the cake. I hope you love it!
Can I use lily white corn syrup. I don’t have light and can I use 18% coffee cream
Hi Linda! Yes, lily white corn syrup will work. I’m not sure about the 18% coffee cream since I’ve never tried anything but heavy whipping cream (aka double cream) in this recipe. It would be an experiment!
Used it for cupcake filling and added some to buttercream for a chocolate salted caramel cupcake. Holy cow! So delicious. It’s perfect for what I needed!!!
Would this work for macaron filling without a buttercream or ganache dam? Thank you.
Hi Karen! It will work beautifully as a macaron filling. Enjoy!