Whipped caramel is for caramel lovers (and haters)

As soon as September arrives, my cravings instinctively shift to all things autumn, regardless of the actual weather outside: Give me those cozy sweaters, mugs of warm apple cider, and piles of crunchy leaves. And while my childhood fall fair go-to treat was always a caramel apple, these days, rather than risk an expensive visit to my dentist, I prefer to get my caramel apple fix another way. So I developed this recipe for Whipped Caramel Apple Cake.

This single layer apple cake is moist and bursting with apple flavor thanks to boiled cider and Apple Pie Spice, but the real star of this cake is its Whipped Caramel Frosting.  

Made by whipping caramel sauce with butter, this golden frosting has the rich, deep flavors of caramel, but the texture is completely transformed from thick and sticky to light and fluffy. With its silky smooth texture and balanced toasted sugar flavor, it's everything you love about caramel — minus the heaviness, stickiness, and overpowering sweetness. For the caramel obsessed, this frosting will be a dream come true. And for those who’ve shied away from caramel in the past, I urge you to try it.

Photography by Patrick Marinello; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

The frosting begins with a homemade caramel sauce made by cooking sugar and water together until it’s a light amber color. If you’re intimidated by caramel (or if you’ve ever made it before only to have it seize in the pan), take heart: It only takes about 10 minutes, and adding some cream of tartar to the mix prevents unwanted crystallization. Once the caramel is golden, you finish it by whisking in butter, cream, and vanilla, then refrigerate until completely cool and thickened. (This usually takes about four hours, but the caramel sauce can also be made one week in advance.)

Then it’s time to whip: To make the frosting, you’ll whip the caramel with butter (in a ratio of 4:1) until the mixture transforms into a light, fluffy, voluminous golden cloud. This step amazes me every time — I always feel like I’ve gone from baker to magician, if only for a few minutes.  

The frosting is a dream to spread over cakes or cupcakes, swooping and swirling in a way you never imagined caramel could. After testing this frosting dozens of times, here are my pro tips: If the frosting feels dense, curdled, or greasy, it’s too cold. Gently warm the mixture by setting the bowl over a pan of steaming water for a few minutes (just until you see the edges begin to soften/melt), then re-whip until smooth. If the frosting feels soupy or loose, it’s too warm. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator before re-whipping.  

Photography by Patrick Marinello; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

And if you don’t want to make your own caramel sauce, I’m thrilled to share that this Caramel Block is an excellent substitute. Gently melt some of the block caramel with cream over a water bath, or in a microwave at 50% power, cool completely, then whip on high speed with some butter. That’s it! For exact amounts, check out the tips at the bottom of the recipe page.  

What about store-bought caramel sauce? Sadly, I don’t recommend it. When I was fine-tuning this recipe, I tried several store-bought caramel sauces, and my results were inconsistent and disappointing. These sauces usually have a thin consistency and a common first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. This means that I needed to add a lot more butter to the mixture to properly aerate and stabilize the whipped caramel sauce, but doing so made the frostings taste more like butter and less like caramel.

This cake, crowned with its cloud of whipped caramel, has quickly become my new favorite fall cake, capturing the essence of the season in every fluffy bite. But the frosting isn’t only good on apple cake; try it on your next batch of vanilla cupcakes, pan of brownies, or as a filling for macarons. No matter the bake, this frosting will leave everyone craving more.

Conquer your caramel fears with our step-by-step guide on how to make caramel. 

Cover photo (Whipped Caramel Frosting) by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.