Step-by-step method

At a glance

This elegant caramel cake pairs a delicate hazelnut sponge with a smooth, salted caramel buttercream – and the trickiest part is mastering the caramel timing (watching for that perfect golden color without burning it). You'll be whisking, baking, and then whipping everything together over the course of nearly three hours, with the payoff being layers of cake and silky cream that balance sweetness beautifully.

1/15

Tip: sponge for a baking tray

I never bake a different type of sponge – I just adjust the ratio of eggs (and other ingredients) to the size of the tin. For one baking tray: use a batter made with 4 eggs for a base sponge (the one placed under gelatine-set layers). For one baking tray: use a batter made with 6 eggs for a sponge meant to be sliced and filled.
2/15

Tip: sponge for a cake tin

26 cm round cake tin – batter made with 6 eggs. 30 cm round cake tin – batter made with 8 eggs.
3/15

Tip: flavouring

The sponge can be flavoured with hazelnuts, coconut, almonds, cocoa, chocolate, etc. Whatever ingredient you mix with the flour needs to weigh the same as the eggs used. I used 50 g of finely ground hazelnuts instead of 50 g of semi-coarse flour.

4/15

Weighing the ingredients (6 eggs, 55 g each)

Weigh the eggs in their shells (using however many eggs you plan to use) – you'll need the same weight in granulated sugar and the same weight in semi-coarse flour. Allow 2 tablespoons of hot water per egg.

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330 gram
Chicken Eggs

330 gram
Caster sugar

120 milliliter
Water

280 gram
Medium-Fine Wheat Flour
5/15

Whisked egg yolks and whites

Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and water. Once the mixture has thickened and the sugar has dissolved, whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks and fold them into the yolk mixture alternately with the flour.
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Hazelnuts

Add the hazelnuts or your chosen flavouring.

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50 gram
Unpeeled Hazelnuts
7/15

Bake

Pour the sponge batter into a greased and flour-dusted baking tin. Bake in an oven preheated to 175°C (160°C fan). Baking time depends on the size and height of the sponge, but it usually takes 30 to 50 minutes.
8/15

Skewer test

Don't open the oven for the first half hour, or the sponge might sink. After that, you can open the oven and insert a skewer into the centre of the sponge – it should come out clean.
9/15

Cooling and slicing

Let the sponge cool completely. Only then slice it into as many layers as you like, depending on its height.
10/15

Caramelising the sugar

Bring the cream to the boil in one saucepan. Put the sugar in a second saucepan. Turn the heat up to nearly full and wait for the sugar to melt. I recommend using a stainless steel pan – you can ruin a non-stick one this way. The sugar will gradually caramelise into a lovely golden colour.

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100 gram
Whipping Cream 33%

100 gram
Caster sugar
11/15

Watch out for hot caramel and colour

Keep an eye on two things: don't burn yourself (hot caramel really hurts!), and don't let the caramel get too dark – it can scorch and turn bitter.
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Stir in the butter and salt

Take the finished caramel off the heat and stir in the butter – I use plain butter and about a teaspoon of salt, depending on how salty you like your caramel. Stir until the two combine.

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25 gram
Unsalted Butter

5 gram
Salt
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Pour in the cream and stir

Return the pan to the heat and stir over low heat. Slowly pour in the hot cream. Keep stirring until you get a smooth caramel mixture. Let it cool completely.
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Whip into a cream

Beat the softened butter together with the cooled caramel. Whip for a good while, around 8 minutes. Add the mascarpone and beat again thoroughly until you get a smooth, silky cream.

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150 gram
Unsalted Butter

750 gram
Mascarpone
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Filling and decorating

Spread a generous layer of cream between each sponge layer. Assemble the cake and cover the top and sides with cream too. You can sprinkle it with sponge crumbs and decorate however you like.

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Caramel Cake

Name: Irresistible Caramel Cake
Prep time: 38 min
Cook time: 83 min
Total time: 166 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 50 gram Unpeeled Hazelnuts; 280 gram Medium-Fine Wheat Flour; 175 gram Unsalted Butter; 120 milliliter Water; 5 gram Salt; 430 gram Caster sugar; 330 gram Chicken Eggs; 100 gram Whipping Cream 33%; 750 gram Mascarpone

bohynekuchyne

Prep 38 min Cook 1 h 23 min

Plus 20 min of resting (not counted in active time)

9 Ingredients

15 Steps

Very hard Difficulty

Ingredients — what you'll need

You only need 9 ingredients

Adjust servings

50 gram
Unpeeled Hazelnuts
280 gram
Medium-Fine Wheat Flour
175 gram
Unsalted Butter
120 milliliter
Water
5 gram
Salt
430 gram
Caster sugar
330 gram
Chicken Eggs
100 gram
Whipping Cream 33%
750 gram
Mascarpone

Equipment

What you'll need besides the ingredients.

Cake tin ⌀ 26 cm

Skewer

What's in it?

1033 kcal

Calories

81 g

Carbohydrates

77 g

Fats

17 g

Proteins

The nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on the specific ingredients used.

About this recipe

The tricky part of this beautiful caramel cake is really just the macarons. You can decorate it with pretty much anything else, though – fresh fruit, chopped nuts, caramel threads, you name it. What really matters is the delicate, perfect balance between the caramel and the light hazelnut sponge. I got lucky and mine turned out great.

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Step-by-step method

At a glance

Tip: sponge for a baking tray

Tip: sponge for a cake tin

Tip: flavouring

Weighing the ingredients (6 eggs, 55 g each)

For this step

Whisked egg yolks and whites

Hazelnuts

For this step

Bake

Skewer test

Cooling and slicing

Caramelising the sugar

For this step

Watch out for hot caramel and colour

Stir in the butter and salt

For this step

Pour in the cream and stir

Whip into a cream

For this step

Filling and decorating

How it went

Nobody has tried this recipe yet

Caramel Cake

Ingredients — what you'll need

Equipment

What's in it?

About this recipe

Want a recipe like this every Thursday?

Similar recipes

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