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 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 Icing Recipe
Easy Caramel Icing
Ingredients
- ½ c. butter
- 1 c. 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:
Emily
This looks amazing! I have a feeling I could just eat it with a spoon. No cake necessary. 🙂
Pinning!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Oh, I’m sure you could, Emily! You could just think of it as Caramel Fudge. 😉
Krista
I had pinned a recipe for a chocolate cake with caramel icing that was on the parents.com blog. I believe it was your recipe That link is no longer there. Do you have the recipe for the chocolate cake that went with this icing. I loved the cake and can’t find the recipe anymore. Thanks for your help.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Krista, yes, Parents.com took down most of their blogs the middle of last year. This Best Ever Chocolate Cake recipe is the chocolate cake recipe that I had shared there. We LOVE it with this icing and it’s so incredibly moist too! A family favorite!
Lisa
This icing should be called “Killer Caramel Frosting”! I have tried many caramel icing recipes over the years because it was my dad’s absolute favorite. Most are complicated and not nearly as delicious as yours. I wish he was still here to enjoy this cake. He would have flipped! I like to think he is here with me sometimes…maybe that is why I tried your icing today. Thanks so much for posting this one.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Aw, thanks so much, Lisa! It really is the best caramel icing recipe ever I think. 🙂 And I wish too that your Dad could have enjoyed this…and I’m happy that it could remind you of your good times with him. He was lucky to have a daughter that cared so much about him!
Lisa
I found a great recipe for apple cake and this recipe was my 3rd try for the perfect caramel frosting to top it off to perfection. Hands down, this one takes the cake! Thank you for sharing!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I love hearing this, Lisa! Caramel icing can be so tricky and I love that this one turns out amazing every single time. And now you have me curious about that apple cake recipe! 🙂
Brazzlie K Jones
Can you shear your Apple cake recipe please.
Tara Lucas
Directions should have been more detailed. I consider myself a relatively experienced baker as I have been baking since I was a kid. But this icing turned out to be the consistency of caramel play dough. It was not spreadable at all. I do not recommend trying to ice a layer cake with this, and the directions should have said as much. If you make this icing, you had better pour that stuff over the sheet cake while it is still warm and runny so it can run over it because you will not get it spread later. I was making a cake for someone’s birthday at work tomorrow. Now I have to take a half naked cake with icing only between the layers and on top, which I barely managed to get covered since it was so thick. It looks plopped on there because it would not spread and it was tearing the cake. (And no time tonight to make another one!) The icing does taste good. But this has turned out to be the ugliest cake I have ever made. One thing was right about the instructions, that you might not want to use it all…. because you might not be able to spread it on there! Can someone spell K-I-T-C-H-E-N D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R?!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Tara, I am so very sorry. That sounds like a super frustrating experience and you have every reason to be disappointed. You are right, I should have a note in the recipe stating that it isn’t for layer cakes. I’m going to add that now. I hope that you all at least were able to enjoy the deliciousness of the cake, but again, I’m sorry that it didn’t end up creating the beautiful cake you were hoping for. Also, thanks for sharing your feedback in such a kind way- you have no idea how rare that is!
Jenn
Oops. I left the frosting cool for too long, so had to use another tablespoon or so of milk in order to get the sugar to blend! We had this on brownies. Oh. My. Good. #sugar_rush. The spouse and the son both like this. We’ll make it again.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Oh, brownies with caramel icing sound delicious! And glad you figured out how to redeem the situation of letting it cool too long. I probably should change the directions because you really barely need to let it cool and as you found it, it doesn’t take much before it starts to thicken/harden.
Beadknitter
Made a chocolate cake today to try this recipe (because I have to take an apple cake to a meeting next week and I will be putting caramel icing on it. I used my family as guinea pigs.). Just ate some and oh my God! It’s so good. Thanks for sharing this incredible recipe.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Glad the guinea pig test was a success! 🙂 And that apple cakes sounds delectable.
Donna
Poured this icing over a carrot cake baked in a tube pan. Totally delicious! Because the icing hardens quickly the icing stayed on top and the overflow from the top ran down the sides. Looked pretty and tasted wonderful. Getting ready to try it on your chocolate cake. Taking this to a church celebration tomorrow. We’re celebrating the one-year anniversary of God’s blessings during a tornado last year. Forty preschoolers and all the adults who were at the church during the tornado escaped without a scratch! Meanwhile, the preschool wing and sanctuary were totally destroyed. God is good…all the time!
Lydia Beiler
Oh yum! Never thought of trying this on carrot cake, but it would be so tasty! And I love that you all are celebrating the anniversary of God’s protection for your church family! What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it, Donna!
Dfggcf
Wow
Beth
Hi,
I made this today to put on applesauce cake (my Mom’s recipe from the 60’s).
I didn’t have any whip cream for the cake, so went searching Pinterest for icing.
So glad I came across your recipe! It was easy to make and came out perfectly!
It tastes great on the cake and I will be using this in the future for other cakes as well.
Thank you so much for sharing your Grandmother’s treasured recipe!
Lydia Beiler
I’ve never heard of applesauce cake, but it definitely sounds like something that I need to find a recipe for and try! Yum! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and rate this recipe.
Patty
Speaking of grandmas recipes, carmel icing goes great on jam cake!
Lydia Beiler
I’ve never heard of jam cake, but it sure sounds good! And if it works with caramel icing, then I think it must be super good!
Patty
I would be glad to send you the recipe!
Haley Griffin
I made this to go with Best Chocolate Cake Ever recipe, turned out great! My question is, do you refrigerate the leftovers or let it sit on the counter covered at room temp? I wasn’t sure because the icing contains butter.
Thanks!
Lydia Beiler
So happy to hear that you enjoyed both the cake and the icing, Haley. No, I don’t refrigerate leftovers unless we won’t get the cake eaten within a couple of days. It certainly won’t hurt to refrigerate it though. And you can even freeze it if you prefer. Growing up, we loved it when mom forgot to get the chocolate cake with caramel icing out ahead of time and it was still kind of frozen when we ate it. And now I’m craving partially frozen cake!
Sheri
My 92-year-old grandma also always made chocolate cake with caramel frosting, just like your recipe! We would celebrate every birthday together with extended family – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – and this was most everyones favorite. I however hated chocolate cake, so my grandma started reserving a little dish of caramel frosting just for me 🙂 There was a little a bit of jealousy over that, lol. I never wrote the recipe down, so thank you for sharing. My kids love this as well 🙂
Lydia Beiler
What a fun memory, Sheri! Aren’t grandmas the best? And knowing that you are able to enjoy caramel frosting again like your grandma made makes me so happy! Comments like this are what make my day and keep me doing what I do. 🙂 Thanks!
Debby Brooks
Best (and easiest) caramel icing…ever! Looks like the old fashioned kind that my grandma made. Delicious!!
Lydia Beiler
It’s surprising how easy it is to make, isn’t it? So glad you liked it!
Katie
This was an amazing find – thank you! 20 years ago a coworker brought in her famous caramel cake and I loved it. Tried to make her frosting ONCE and I didn’t get it right. Who wants to stir for THAT long? This was awesome. So fast and came together easy peasy. I text her this recipe and told her to try it.
Of note, I didn’t have any whole milk so I used almond and it was just fine. Also had to add my twist of half a capful of maple extract and 1/8 cup Mexican crema at the end. I used this on a box butter pecan cake mix I substituted butter for oil with and added a capful of vanilla to. My family raved over the cake and frosting. They said the frosting tasted like a maple bar frosting and it’s now a Christmas favorite.
I think this tasted like the center of a butterscotch square candy from See’s. That being said I think this could be doubled and poured in a pan, cut in squares and dipped in chocolate and double for that. Will save me from buying it hubby 2 pound box for a lot more, and will be made with extra love.
Thanks again!
Lydia Beiler
So happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Katie! Yes, many caramel icing recipes can be pretty tricky and hard to get to turn out right. But this recipe is pretty foolproof! Thanks for the tip that almond milk works wells too. Super helpful for those that don’t use dairy! And the other tweaks sound tasty too.
I never thought to try making this into candy but it sounds totally delicious! Now you have me itching to try it. 🙂
Carolyn
Would this frosting work on cinnamon rolls?
Lydia Beiler
So sorry for the slow reply, Carolyn. Yes, I think it would. It’s a bit stiffer than your typical cinnamon roll icing but I don’t think that would really matter. Just more something to consider.
Karie Redding
The directions are clearly easy but mine did not turn out right. It was gritty.
Lydia Beiler
Karie, I am so sorry that your icing turned out gritty. That is so frustrating! I’m rather puzzled as to what may have caused it because I have made this recipe dozens of times and never had any issues. (A previous recipe that I tried that used a bit of a different method sometimes did it though.) Were you stirring it constantly and also keeping the sides and “corners” of the pan clean too as you stirred? That’s the only thing that I can think of that may have caused it to become gritty. Again, I’m sorry. I know how annoying it is to go to the effort of making something and then having it flop for what seems to be no reason.