This chocolate and salted caramel cake is the ace up my sleeve, and my greatest secret. Until now.
From the rich and fudgy chocolate cake, to the impossibly light and creamy frosting, to the decadent drips and the care-free decoration, this cake is a winner through and through.
This cake never lets me down. And now it’s yours to rely on, too.
My most popular cake, and a timeless crowdpleaser. Make this cake once, and you'll make it every year for the rest of your life.
Prep Time1hr
Cook Time1hr
Chilling Time1hr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: English
Servings: 30
Calories: 663kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
150gcocoa powder
650gplain flour
900gcaster sugar
2tspbaking powder
2tspbaking soda
2tspfine salt
500mlwhole milk
4largeeggs
150mlvegetable oil(unflavoured)
2tspvinegar
4tspvanilla extract
250mlblack coffee
Salted Caramel
300gcaster sugar
300mldouble cream
1tspvanilla extract
1tspsea salt
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
250gegg whites
500gsugar
750gunsalted butter(soft)
1tbspvanilla extract
Ganache
150mldouble cream
300gmilk chocolate, finely chopped
Decoration
40gCinder toffee
Instructions
Chocolate cake
Preheat oven to 180c (160c fan)
Prepare four 8-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottom with baking parchment.
Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using the paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until ‘sifted’ and well combined.
Measure 500ml milk out into a large jug. Add the eggs and whisk lightly to break up the yolks. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla and vinegar, and whisk again to combine.
With the stand mixer running on low speed, pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients in a steady stream.
Once the jug is empty, measure 250ml strong black coffee into it. Add this to the cake batter, and stir again.Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on high speed for another 30 seconds.
Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans – about 725g in each.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top of the cakes feels firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and set the pan on a cooling rack. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then invert the cakes and peel off the baking parchment.Leave to cool completely.
Salted Caramel
Weigh the sugar into a large saucepan, and cover with just enough water to give it the consistency of wet sand.Be cautious with the water, or making the caramel will take a lot longer!
Place the saucepan over a medium-high heat, and use a wet pastry brush to wash any sugar crystals off the sides of the saucepan.DO NOT STIR THE CARAMEL AT ANY POINT!Periodically wash down the insides of the saucepan as the caramel cooks.
Add the vanilla extract to the cream, ready for later.
As the caramel starts to colour, begin to swirl the pan regularly; the caramel can easily burn.
When the caramel has reached a deep amber colour, remove the pan from the heat, and slowly whisk in the cream and vanilla.The formation of lumps is almost unavoidable at this point.
Once the cream is all added and the spluttering has subsided, return the pan to a low heat, and gently melt the hard caramel back into the sauce.
Add the sea salt and stir to incorporate.
Place a dollop of the hot caramel onto a saucer, and after a couple of minutes give it a taste. Add extra salt to the caramel if desired, but be careful not to add too much!
Leave to cool completely
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Place the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl, and set over a bain-marie. I use the bowl of a stand mixer, to make everything cleaner and easier.
Stir gently over a medium heat until the sugar has all dissolved.
Whisk the meringue mixture for about 7 minutes, until cool and thick.
Add the butter, a little at a time, and continue whisking until the buttercream is smooth.
Once all the butter is incorporated, add the vanilla extract, and whisk again to incorporate.
Add the cooled caramel to the buttercream, and whisk thoroughly. Scrape down the bowl and whisk again, to ensure everything is completely homogenous.
Assembly
Level off the top of the cakes with a bread knife. Either use a turntable, or a piece of baking parchment on a flat surface. Turn the cake slowly and keep the knife fairly still, for best results.
Use a little of the buttercream to glue an 8-inch cake board to the centre of a cake drum, or flat serving plate, on which you will present the cake. With a good coating of buttercream, affix the bottom cake to the cake board. If your cakes are slightly different thicknesses, use the thickest cake on the bottom.
Spread a good thick layer of buttercream in between each cake and stack all 4 on top of each other, leaving the top bare for now.
Take a moment to make ensure that the cake stack is as neat and tidy as it can be. Satisfy yourself that the sides are straight up and down, and that the top is level. If there are any bulges or overhangs, you can trim these carefully with a bread knife.
Once you are satisfied with the result, take a big dollop of buttercream and stick in on top of the cake to make the crumb coat. Carefully spread this all over the cake stack, making sure it fills every crevice. The bottom of the cake is the hardest place to ensure a good coating, so I tend to start there.
Smooth the buttercream all the way around the cake, checking for any exposed sections or bluging. Once everything is coated in a thin layer (this doesn't need to be perfect) transfer the cake to the fridge, and allow to chill for at least 30 mintues.
Take the cake out of the fridge and place a thick layer of buttercream all over the top and sides. Using a palatte knife, spread the buttercream all around the cake, filling every gap, all the way up to the rim of the cake board that the cake is placed on.
Use a cake scraper, and hold it against the cake board at the base, making every effort to keep it upright as you move the turntable, or spin the cake on some baking parchment.
Take your time here, adding more buttercream if needed, to get as smooth a surface as possible.
When the sides are straight, then use a clean pallatte knife to pull the top edges inwards and neaten things up. You will cover the top of the cake, so it doesn't need to look perfect.
Put the cake back in the fridge for 30 minutes while you prepare the ganache.
Ganache
Place the cream into a saucepan, and heat on a medium heat until it is steaming hot.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and leave for 2 minutes to allow the chooclate to start melting.
Use a small whisk to make small circles in the middle of the ganache mixture. YOu must incorporate gradually as you are creating an emulsion; DO NOT immediately stir everything together, or the ganahce will very likely split.
Transfer the ganache to a piping bag or squeezy bottle, and wait until it has cooled to the point that it is comforable to hold.
Decoration
Remove the cake from the fridge and carefully squeeze the ganache over the edge to create drips. With experience you will be able to get an attractive look my varying the length of your drips, although anything dripping with chocolate will look delicious!
When the ganache has set, place some of the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Create 12 peaks of buttercream around the outside of the cake – I like to make mine look like those soft-serve ice creams you'd have as a child.
Break up a bar of cinder toffee (or any other candy bar you deem appropriate), and sprinkle it over the top. Sometimes I adorn each peak with a chunk, sometimes break it up small and sprinkle it in the middle. The choice is yours!
Notes
Cakes are easiest to assemble when everything (including the cakes) are cold, however they will taste best at room temperature.
This recipe will likely leave you with some leftover buttercream. It freezes very well, do not throw it away!
Hi Dan, I’m planning on making this for my friend’s birthday in a few weeks (I’m not usually this organised ?). Do you think I can use rapeseed oil instead of vegetable?? Thanks!
Hi I would like to try your recipe as it seems less sweet,l and looks scrumptious,but is it possible to use store bought caramel sauce if so,how much should I put in?thank you.
What is not a winner is the body ,my estimate of 1 lb of some sort of chocolate, 3-3/4 cups of sugar, 3 cups of fat( butter cream oil) a glorious intoduction to a heart attack waitng to happen.
It’s a fair question! I just make some strong black coffee and add 250ml of that. The important thing is the 250ml of hot liquid here, the coffee part is actually optional – it slightly improves the flavour of the chocolate. If you’re using an instant coffee, just make it up like usual – about a heaped teaspoon. Hope that answers your question!
Hi, great recipe, I made this for my friend’s kid’s 18th and she loved it, but I made a lot of mistakes and want my next attempt to be perfect! Two questions – I think I took some of the air out of the Swiss meringue buttercream as I added the caramel fridge cold instead of room temp, does that sound right to you, as I only just had enough in the end? Also, if I were to bake this in two deeper tins to avoid wastage from levelling them off (my cakes were very peaked!), what size tins should I use, at what temp should I bake them, and for how long? Many thanks! x
Adding a cold caramel sauce might deflate the buttercream, so that is something that is probably best avoided in the future.
To avoid wastage in cutting off the tops of the cake, I would recommend using a baking belt on the cake tins. These dampened strips of material stop the sides of the cake cooking too quickly, and you end up with a much more level cake. Doubling up on the batter and creating a double height cake is not something that I’ve experimented with on this recipe, and I know how difficult it can be to adjust for in terms of temperature and baking time, or even the amounts of leavening used. I’m sure it can be done, but you proceed at your own peril! I hope that helps x
Hmmmmm… try this: Add the sugar and water to the pan, then place on a lid until the mixture is boiling and the sugar is all dissolved. Assuming that the problem is crystallisation, that might help. That being said, you will need to heat the caramel past the point at which any crystals will dissolve, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Can you be more specific about the problem that you’re having?
Hi, yeah the first time it crystallised. Then I tried it again and I put the cream in too prematurely and then the third time it’s not really a caramel consistency. I left it to sit overnight and it’s hardened slightly, not liquidy. I was thinking maybe I perhaps didnt cook it for long enough?
Perhaps – you need to be quite brave with the colour! It is a pouring consistency sauce at room temperature, so don’t expect it to be firm. If you’re unsure, maybe add just a little at a time to the buttercream – it has quite a strong flavour, so you may be ok with less caramel. Good luck!
Hi I’m attempting this for my mums birthday. Is it possible to make the buttercream today ready for using tomorrow? I was going to make the caramel but then saw a comment saying not to put it in the buttercream mixture cold. I’ll be decorating the cake tomorrow ready for Sunday. Would this work?
Hi Dan, I’m attempting this for my friend’s birthday next weekend and I just wanted to check the amounts. I want to make 2 layers but can’t tell how many are here: in step 2 you say to prepare 4 pans, but in step 7, you mention 2 pans. Please could you say how many layers this cake is and would you be able to help me adjust to 2 (if it isn’t already)? Thank you!
Hi Dan how many egg whites is 250g?! I’m
Presuming you used bought egg whites but if I can’t get them it will have to be eggs separated! (I can see lots of lemon curd coming up too….) Thank you ? x
Brilliant thank you, I keep chickens so have lots of eggs! As such I will be using separated egg whites. But I have found a recipe for yolk only lemon curd. Thank you again.
Hi Dan how many egg whites is 250g?! I’m
Presuming you used bought egg whites but if I can’t get them it will have to be eggs separated! (I can see lots of lemon curd coming up too….) Thank you ? x
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28 comments
Hi! Is it possible to make this using 6x3in cake pans? How should the recipe be adjusted? Thanks!
You’ll need half the batter if you’re using a 6 inch cake tin, so simply half all the ingredients in the recipe. Hope that helps!
Hi Dan, I’m planning on making this for my friend’s birthday in a few weeks (I’m not usually this organised ?). Do you think I can use rapeseed oil instead of vegetable?? Thanks!
You can use any vegetable based oil that doesn’t have a strong flavour. Canola/rapeseed oil is perfectly fine x
Not a big Coffee fan – Can you taste it and if so is there something I can substitute this for?
You can’t taste it at all – it’s just to enhance the flavour of the chocolate. If you’re nervous about getting a hint of coffee, just leave it out x
Can you make the caramel sauce in advance? If so, how king does it keep for & what’s the best way to store it? Thanks
Yes, you can! It will keep in the fridge for several days, and you can even freeze it. I often make the sauce a day or two before.
Hi I would like to try your recipe as it seems less sweet,l and looks scrumptious,but is it possible to use store bought caramel sauce if so,how much should I put in?thank you.
Dan what a wounderful presentation!
How can it not be a winner!
What is not a winner is the body ,my estimate of 1 lb of some sort of chocolate, 3-3/4 cups of sugar, 3 cups of fat( butter cream oil) a glorious intoduction to a heart attack waitng to happen.
But I would try a piece.
Harold
Haha! It is supposed to feed 30 people though – don’t eat it all yourself!
when you say 250ml of coffee, how much coffee do you put in the water, am I being stupid?
It’s a fair question! I just make some strong black coffee and add 250ml of that. The important thing is the 250ml of hot liquid here, the coffee part is actually optional – it slightly improves the flavour of the chocolate. If you’re using an instant coffee, just make it up like usual – about a heaped teaspoon. Hope that answers your question!
is it possible to only make this cake for 6 people, should I divide all the amounts by 5?
If you only have 6 people feed, I’d divide the recipe by 4, and make 2 x 6 inch cakes.
I hope that makes sense?!
Hi, great recipe, I made this for my friend’s kid’s 18th and she loved it, but I made a lot of mistakes and want my next attempt to be perfect! Two questions – I think I took some of the air out of the Swiss meringue buttercream as I added the caramel fridge cold instead of room temp, does that sound right to you, as I only just had enough in the end? Also, if I were to bake this in two deeper tins to avoid wastage from levelling them off (my cakes were very peaked!), what size tins should I use, at what temp should I bake them, and for how long? Many thanks! x
Adding a cold caramel sauce might deflate the buttercream, so that is something that is probably best avoided in the future.
To avoid wastage in cutting off the tops of the cake, I would recommend using a baking belt on the cake tins. These dampened strips of material stop the sides of the cake cooking too quickly, and you end up with a much more level cake. Doubling up on the batter and creating a double height cake is not something that I’ve experimented with on this recipe, and I know how difficult it can be to adjust for in terms of temperature and baking time, or even the amounts of leavening used. I’m sure it can be done, but you proceed at your own peril! I hope that helps x
I’m trying to make this for my little brother’s birthday, I can’t seem to get the caramel right though. Is there a nack?
Hmmmmm… try this: Add the sugar and water to the pan, then place on a lid until the mixture is boiling and the sugar is all dissolved. Assuming that the problem is crystallisation, that might help. That being said, you will need to heat the caramel past the point at which any crystals will dissolve, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Can you be more specific about the problem that you’re having?
Hi, yeah the first time it crystallised. Then I tried it again and I put the cream in too prematurely and then the third time it’s not really a caramel consistency. I left it to sit overnight and it’s hardened slightly, not liquidy. I was thinking maybe I perhaps didnt cook it for long enough?
Perhaps – you need to be quite brave with the colour! It is a pouring consistency sauce at room temperature, so don’t expect it to be firm. If you’re unsure, maybe add just a little at a time to the buttercream – it has quite a strong flavour, so you may be ok with less caramel. Good luck!
Thank you, I will give it another try! ?
Hi I’m attempting this for my mums birthday. Is it possible to make the buttercream today ready for using tomorrow? I was going to make the caramel but then saw a comment saying not to put it in the buttercream mixture cold. I’ll be decorating the cake tomorrow ready for Sunday. Would this work?
Hi Dan, I’m attempting this for my friend’s birthday next weekend and I just wanted to check the amounts. I want to make 2 layers but can’t tell how many are here: in step 2 you say to prepare 4 pans, but in step 7, you mention 2 pans. Please could you say how many layers this cake is and would you be able to help me adjust to 2 (if it isn’t already)? Thank you!
Hi Dan how many egg whites is 250g?! I’m
Presuming you used bought egg whites but if I can’t get them it will have to be eggs separated! (I can see lots of lemon curd coming up too….) Thank you ? x
Hmm… an egg white is usually about 30g, so I’d say 8 egg whites?!
Brilliant thank you, I keep chickens so have lots of eggs! As such I will be using separated egg whites. But I have found a recipe for yolk only lemon curd. Thank you again.
Hi Dan how many egg whites is 250g?! I’m
Presuming you used bought egg whites but if I can’t get them it will have to be eggs separated! (I can see lots of lemon curd coming up too….) Thank you ? x