You’ll love this easy caramel icing recipe! It’s made with basic pantry staples, takes around 10 minutes to make and beats store-bought frosting ANY day!
It’s been just over a year since my sweet 95-year-old Grandmother went to be with Jesus. And I’ve been finding myself thinking a lot about her life and the legacy she left.
Grandmother loved to cook and she was always finding ways to serve people, both through her love of cooking and otherwise.
One dessert that she was known for far and wide, was her chocolate cake with caramel icing. I wonder how many of those she must have made in her lifetime. It had to be have been in the thousands!
Her caramel icing was always so good and as I child I loved to peel it off the cake in one piece, eat the cake by itself and then slowly savor the delicious caramel icing all on its own. And as an adult, I’ve been known to do it sometimes too. 😉
A never fail caramel icing
The recipe for old-fashioned caramel icing that my Grandmother used was actually just slightly different than this one.
Grandmother’s recipe used the same ingredients but was actually pretty tricky to make. The process was a bit more exacting and required a lot more precision with temperature. And it was somewhat difficult to get it to consistently turn out perfectly.
Shortly after I married, an older lady from our church shared this easy recipe for caramel icing with me. I was so excited when I tried it because it tasted just like Grandmother’s famous recipe!
But instead of being tricky to make, this recipe was super easy and is pretty much a never fail caramel icing recipe and turns out perfect every time!
So I switched to this simpler recipe and have never looked back! I’ve made it for numerous extended family get-togethers and everyone has agreed that it tastes just like Grandmother’s!
We love this easy caramel icing on my Best Ever Chocolate Cake and it goes perfectly with my Super Moist Gingerbread Cake too.
Apple cakes, such as this Applesauce Cake, pair wonderfully with caramel icing as well.
Easy Caramel Frosting Recipe
Easy Caramel Icing
Ingredients
- ½ c. butter
- 1 c. light brown sugar
- ¼ c. milk
- 2 c. sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
- Melt butter and brown sugar together on low heat. Bring to boil and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add milk and heat just until boiling again. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
- Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. (I find using a whisk or hand mixer really helps to get it nice and smooth.)
Notes
Other dessert recipes that you might enjoy:
Claudia Siefer
I wonder if this is suitable for a bundt cake?
Lydia Beiler
I think the consistency would drizzle nicely over the top but I’ve never tried it. (Keep in mind that it does set quickly.) You may only want to make half a recipe though.
Dez Jackson
Sounds delicious! What kind of milk do you use in this recipe?
Lydia Beiler
We sure enjoy it! 🙂 I just use regular whole or 2% milk.
Laura Thompson
I’m making dark chocolate cupcakes for my son’s 18th birthday. I will be icing them with this icing. Thank you so much for sharing!
Lydia Beiler
Yum! That sounds like a delicious combo. I just wanted to make sure that you saw the comment in the Notes section of the recipe card about this icing setting up fairly quickly. I’ve never used it for cupcakes because of that and just wanted to make sure you were aware of that dynamic. You might be able to get it work okay…it’s just that because it sets fairly fast, it’s hard to get it to look pretty after a bit, if that makes sense. I hope you have a great time celebrating!
Sarah
I’ve used this for cupcakes. I dip the cupcake into the icing and it creates a nice smooth coverage, almost like a glaze.
Lydia Beiler
That is so smart, Sarah! Thanks for sharing that.
Pam Robbins
This was fabulous!! We love caramel but I’ve always been afraid to try it. The recipe was super easy and turned out perfect!!
Lydia Beiler
This recipe is ridiculously easy, isn’t it, Pam? So glad you got brave enough to try it and ended up loving it!
Vonnie Kruckenberg
I used this caramel frosting on a banana cake, the consistency is perfect and it is delicious.
Lydia Beiler
Delighted that you enjoyed it, Vonnie! And now you have me craving banana cake with caramel icing. 😉
Syvil
Do you prefer light or dark brown sugar?
Lydia Beiler
I always use light brown sugar. Great question…and I’m going to update the recipe to clarify that. Also, sorry for the slow reply. We’ve been traveling the last several weeks and I’ve not been working as much as a result.
Linda
Can u use margarine instead of butter?
Lydia Beiler
I’ve never used it but I would think it would still turn out okay.