Creamy and fudge-like, with an irresistible salty-sweet-buttery flavor, this is the frosting that all desserts are begging for. (I’m pretty sure all desserts would taste epic under a blanket of this stuff.) So very good on banana cake. There are two main steps in this recipe: (1) Cook a brown sugar caramel on the stove, and then let it cool for 20 minutes. (2) Beat in sifted confectioners’ sugar and a little heavy cream or milk to thin out. You can use the frosting right away, but it will be quite runny—pourable consistency, really. Or if you wait at least 20–30 minutes, the frosting will be thick enough to pipe.
5 Ingredients for Salted Caramel Frosting
Left photo below: The caramel is thin and smooth right off the stove. What a difference from the photo above! Right photo below: Here is the caramel after cooling for 20 minutes. My assistant and I began retesting the original recipe. Frustratingly, the batches kept yielding different results. Then we began changing small variables. One batch was too hard, another too grainy. Why? But it wasn’t the temperature of the butter. And it doesn’t really matter if you use milk or cream (I do prefer cream, but the frosting still works with whole milk). And the pan didn’t make a noticeable difference, same with using light vs. brown sugar. The problem was simply that we were overcooking it! A candy thermometer promises more consistent results. Your frosting will no longer be grainy and your caramel will no longer be over- or under-cooked. Now sift in your confectioners’ sugar and beat in more heavy cream/milk: At this point, you can use the thin frosting, or wait 20–30 minutes for it to thicken into a pipeable consistency. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets: And be sure NOT to over-mix the frosting after it’s done. Because it will begin to separate:
6 Success Tips for the Best Salted Caramel Frosting
Finish your dessert with a drizzle of salted caramel, the sauce version of today’s recipe. Because everything is better with extra salted caramel.
Apple Cupcakes (pictured) Vanilla Cupcakes (pictured) Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies Mocha Cupcakes or Carrot Cake Cupcakes Cinnamon Rolls Banana Cake (pictured) Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Salted Caramel Cupcakes Cake Mix Chocolate Cupcakes Sandwiched between 2 butter pecan cookies
