I am fully aware that I have a fully fledged caramel addiction. I love everything about it and think that it just makes everything taste 100x better. That is why I am so in love with this buttercream frosting. Made with only 5 simple ingredients, it’s quick and easy to make and takes less than 5 minutes altogether.
I love to pile this high on top of cakes, from a basic vanilla to a more decadent banana cupcake (with a super simple gluten free option available), or even a fudgy chocolate cake. This also makes the perfect classic banoffee cupcake. This is a twist on a classic buttercream recipe and is made with a few very simple ingredients. Unsalted butter, icing sugar, a dash of milk, a pinch of salt (to make it a salted caramel) and lastly Carnation caramel. This is what gives it its delicious caramel flavour. Carnation caramel is super quick and easy to use, has a great flavour and is perfect for baking. I used 2 tablespoons of this to really make the caramel flavour nice and strong, without being too overpowering. As always, you can adjust this amount by adding more or less, to your preference. I’ve also added less icing sugar here. This is because the carnation is quite sweet already, so I reduced the amount of powdered sugar in order to reduce the sweetness.
Caramel
To make the icing, start by creaming the butter until nice and smooth, then add in the icing sugar in 2 separate batches, adding the milk with the second batch. I would always recommend stirring the icing sugar through before mixing with an electric mixer. This helps to prevent an icing sugar cloud. Next stir through the Carnation caramel and a pinch of salt, and you’ve just made the perfect buttercream frosting.
As this frosting has more liquid and less icing sugar it isn’t as thick as a traditional buttercream but is still thick enough to be piped. If you prefer then you can add a tablespoon of icing to each cake and using a palette knife or butter knife, ‘smear’ it on the top of the cake. I would recommend adding to your cake straight away or as soon as they’re cooled so it’s not left out for too long.
If you’re feeling super extravagant you can also line the piping bag with a thin layer of caramel before piling in the buttercream to give it an extra caramel coating as you pipe. I also added mini fudge pieces to the top of the icing, for the perfect finishing touch, but you can always leave them plain or top with another topping of your choice.
Ingredients
- 85 g / 3 oz Unsalted Butter
- 145 g / 5 oz Icing Sugar - sieved
- 1 teaspoon Milk
- 2 tablespoons Carnation Caramel
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Add the butter to a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, blend until creamy.
- Add half of the sieved icing sugar to the bowl and using a spoon, gently stir together until just combined (this helps to prevent an icing sugar explosion!), before mixing with the electric mixer.
- Add the remaining icing sugar and milk and follow the steps above, do not be afraid to overmix, you want this to be nice and smooth
- Add the Carnation Caramel and salt and thoroughly mix through
- When everything is blended and smooth, apply to your cooled cake. This piping is thick enough to be piped, so you can either pipe on top of the cooled cake or add a tablespoon of icing on to each cake. Using a butter knife or palette knife, 'smear' the icing on to the cake. Make sure that you use the icing straight away as it may start to melt if left out.
- I topped my icing with mini fudge pieces, for the perfect finishing touch, but you can always leave them plain or top with another topping of your choice.
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