This delicious easy caramel icing recipe is made with everyday kitchen staples and is super quick to make! It beats store bought icing ANY day!
This Easy Caramel Icing is so delicious and it’s simple enough that even an inexperienced cook can make it. We love it with my Best Ever Chocolate Cake and it also goes perfectly with Gingerbread Cake, a yummy winter dessert.
If you are worried about not being able to eat a whole cake, you can easily half the recipe. Or just make a whole cake and freeze part of it. Cake is something that freezes really well and it’s always handy to have things like that in the freezer!
EASY CARAMEL ICING
Quick Caramel Icing
This simple caramel icing, made from 4 everyday kitchen staples, is absolutely delicious and crazy easy to make!
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.)
Recipe Notes
The icing will be pretty runny initially, but it will quickly start to firm up.
Because of how quickly the icing firms up, it does not work well for decorating layer cakes, unless you are okay with the "naked" cake look. It would probably work for that!
This makes plenty for a 9×13 cake- in fact, you might not even want to use it all if you don't like lots of icing.
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Emily says
May 4, 2015 at 6:58 AMThis looks amazing! I have a feeling I could just eat it with a spoon. No cake necessary. 🙂
Pinning!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
May 4, 2015 at 7:09 AMOh, I’m sure you could, Emily! You could just think of it as Caramel Fudge. 😉
Krista says
January 13, 2017 at 10:15 AMI 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 says
January 13, 2017 at 11:13 AMKrista, yes, Parents.com took down most of their blogs the middle of last year. I can’t remember what chocolate cake recipe I linked to their, but I’ll email you the recipe that I currently use. We LOVE it with this icing and it’s so moist. It’s actually on my list of recipes to add to the blog soon, so hopefully you’ll be able to eventually just come here to get it. 🙂
Lisa says
April 5, 2017 at 3:28 PMThis 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 says
April 7, 2017 at 2:29 PMAw, 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 says
November 11, 2018 at 11:58 AMI 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 says
November 11, 2018 at 9:41 PMI 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! 🙂
Tara Lucas says
March 24, 2019 at 9:43 PMDirections 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 says
May 4, 2019 at 12:31 PMTara, 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 says
March 27, 2019 at 9:19 PMOops. 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 says
April 13, 2019 at 12:25 AMOh, 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 says
April 24, 2019 at 11:36 PMMade 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 says
May 4, 2019 at 9:44 AMGlad the guinea pig test was a success! 🙂 And that apple cakes sounds delectable.