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 always found 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 have been in the thousands!
Her old-fashioned caramel icing was always so good and as a 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. As an adult, I’ve been known to do it sometimes too. 😉
A never fail caramel icing
The recipe for caramel cake icing that my Grandmother used was actually just slightly different than this one.
Grandmother’s recipe used the same ingredients but was pretty tricky to make. The process was a bit more exacting and required a lot more precision with temperature. It was also 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:
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.
Lenette Williams-King
Very easy to make and very tasty. It’s a it sweet but I can live with that.
Lydia Beiler
Glad you liked it, Lenette!
CK
I do not have access to brown sugar. I do have white sugar and honey. Do you think I could still make this work?
Lydia Beiler
Unfortunately, I don’t think that will work. This recipe requires brown sugar to get that caramel flavor.
Eileen
My mother in law made this recipe. I make half a recipe to frost middle 2 layers of 3 layer cake then a full recipe to pour over top.
Lydia Beiler
This is helpful to know, Eileen! Thanks!
Eileen
You can make brown sugar with molasses and white sugar google it
Lydia Beiler
I typically am all about making your own and trying substitutions, but in this recipe, I’m a little nervous that the homemade brown sugar wouldn’t work well due to the way the recipe is heated etc. I’m concerned that it would get gritty or not thicken properly.
Wendy
This sounds delicious…so I’m sure it’s going to be a five star.
I’m looking for a caramel icing that I can decorate some boring Cereal Cookies with and take them up a notch…. the icing will have to stay firm and not go sticky overtime…do you think this recipe would work for that?….I figured that I could perhaps keep the icing over hot water…..so it won’t firm up whist I do the Cookies…
What do you think!
Lydia Beiler
Hmmm…this icing will definitely stay firm and not go sticky, but I’m a bit hesitant to say that it will for sure work due to how quickly it sets up. It definitely would be delicious on the cookies, but I’m not sure it would stay spreadable long enough, even with keeping it over hot water. If you try it though, I’d love to know how it worked for you!
Ellie
Super easy and very delicious 😍 using this to layer in my Twix cake jars
Lydia Beiler
Twix cake? That sounds delicious and decadent! Happy to hear that you liked the icing, Ellie.
Jessica
Thank you for the recipe. It’s just like my grandma’s. This is now my go-to caramel recipe. Xx
Lydia Beiler
It always makes me smile when someone lets me know that their grandma also made caramel icing like this. So glad you can enjoy it and think of her!