Butterscotch Cake With Caramel Icing

This butterscotch cake is a moist and rich cake, topped with a delicious caramel icing. The cake is loaded in flavor and just to die for!

I have been eager to share this recipe with all of you, as this is the easiest, yet most delicious, butterscotch cake I have ever made or tried.

A few months ago I tried making a butterscotch cake and did not have any success with that version. I wanted it to be rich, moist, and loaded in flavor. Somehow, I ended up with a dry, sad-looking cake!

Recently I was going through some old cookbooks and found a recipe to work with. I tried a butterscotch cake again and made a few adjustments of my own and finally got a cake I wanted.

This cake is perfect all the way through – with the perfect texture, perfect flavor, and the fact that it only takes some simple ingredients. 

One of the most important “perfect” features is the decadent caramel icing. This caramel icing comes straight from an old cookbook, but sometimes the old recipes are the best.

This caramel icing perfectly complements the cake and elevates it to the next level. The icing is so good that I like to make a bit extra and keep on the side. I especially like to drizzle a little over pancakes or sometimes I just eat it with a spoon!

So let’s get down to butterscotch business!

Making the Best Butterscotch Cake

For this butterscotch cake I used brown sugar instead of white sugar. Brown sugar is amazing thanks to its rich flavor, but it also makes this cake nicely moist.

You can use the white sugar, but it just won’t be the same. White sugar will make this cake a bit crisp, and that’s not what we are trying to achieve here. Stick with brown sugar if you want to make it right. 

Speaking of making it right, you will want to beat the sugar and butter until they are fluffy. My brown sugar had bigger granules, but if you can find a brown sugar with smaller crystals, that would be ideal. It will blend perfectly.

Once the butter is blended with the sugar, we will add the eggs. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature.

It matters more than you think. These small temperature variations will have a big impact. Cold eggs will not beat as well as room temperature eggs, so make sure you take the eggs out of the fridge at least 1 hour before you use them.

Once everything is blended, we will sift in the flour and baking powder and stir it well to combine. The batter will have an amazing flavor even at this point.

Lastly, we will pour the batter into a paper-lined spring form pan and bake. 

This cake can be made in a single layer or two layers. If you want two layers, just double the recipe and bake in two springform pans.

Making the Best Caramel Icing

What is a cake without icing? For me, a cake without any icing or frosting is basically an unfinished one!

I know making icings and frostings is an extra step, but it is also a simple one and works every time.

To make this icing, you will have to combine brown sugar, butter, milk, and some flour. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and after one minute of cooking, stir in butter and vanilla.

That’s it! You will just have to pour your icing over the baked butterscotch sponge and let it set. 

Special Tips

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind when making your moist and spongey butterscotch cake with decadent caramel icing:

Once the cake is baked and ready to be drizzled with the caramel icing, I like to poke the cake a few times with a skewer and on this way allow some of the caramel sauce to enter the cake center. 

I also like to keep the cake in the springform pan when drizzling the icing over.

If you want a more prominent caramel flavor, you can go ahead and use caramel pudding instead of flour.

The same idea goes for the cake! If you want sponge with intense butterscotch flavor, replace some of the flour with butterscotch pudding. 

How To Make This Butterscotch Cake With Caramel Icing

Step 1

First, make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. 

Line a spring form with baking paper and grease the sides of a pan with butter.

In a mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter.

Step 2

Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.

Fold in the flour and baking powder. Finally, fold in the milk and stir until you have a smooth batter. 

Step 3

Pour the batter into a springform pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Step 4

In the meantime, make the icing:

Combine sugar, 3 tbsp of butter, milk, and flour in a saucepot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 

Cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter and vanilla. 

Step 5

Pour the icing over the cake. (I like to keep my cake in the springform pan while pouring the icing over.)

Place the cake in a fridge and let it set.

Slice and serve.

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