Chocolate Caramel Cake with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

My little brother Zac got married last week, and Cassie and I had the privilege of making his wedding cake and groom’s cake. Cassie made the wedding cake, so I’ll let her show that to you next week.

This Chocolate Carmel Cake is what Zac picked for his groom’s cake. He had to pick something delicious!

I think this cake is perfect for Valentine’s day too! Look at all those luscious strawberries on the top!

I’ve shared this recipe once before. Here is this delicious cake recipe——-> Click here
We use this recipe for cupcakes and cakes ALL THE TIME. It’s a very dense and delicious cake recipe. Tried and true, handed down from my mother-in-law, Julie.

She is the one that taught me to decorate cakes and she has been making wedding cakes for over 30 years with this exact recipe. So, yes, it’s a family favorite! 

Since this post could get REALLY long, I’m leaving links to all of my favorite cake decorating tips. So you can make this same cake at home! Make sure you follow my tips for keeping your cakes from sticking to the pan.

After your cake comes out of the oven, make sure you FREEZE IT overnight. This makes it much easier to frost.
After you’ve given your cake time to freeze. Make sure you have a cake round to put it on while you frost it. Simply trace the cake pan onto a clean piece of cardboard and cut it out.

Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup of caramel ( I used a thick caramel topping)

Chocolate Caramel Cake with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Directions

Cream butter and Crisco together. Slowly add powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and caramel. You may need to add a little more or less powdered sugar depending on how thick you like your frosting. Sometimes the humidity can make it softer too, so just keep adding powdered sugar until it’s thick enough.
Now use a little frosting on the bottom to help the cake stick to the cake round.

There are two types of frosting on this cake. I used caramel buttercream frosting between the layers and classic chocolate on the top.

I also used a thin layer of the caramel buttercream to crumb coat it. This helps the crumbs stay in the first layer of frosting, so you don’t have bits of cake on the outside of your pretty frosting. I also pushed a dowel into the middle of the cake to make sure the layers stayed directly on top of one another.
To get the cake smooth read this article.

 How to Frost a Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 cup of cocoa powder
6 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter and Crisco together. Slowly add powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and cocoa. You may need to add a little more or less powdered sugar depending on how thick you like your frosting. It’s best to have thick frosting for this type of cake. Especially if you plan on trying to get it as smooth as possible.
Now that your cake is covered in smooth chocolate frosting, or not, it would be pretty if it was a rough frost too! So don’t beat yourself up if you’ve been frosting for hours and it still doesn’t look right!

 

There you have it! And, just in case you want to go crazy. Here is a recipe for fondant that I use ALL THE TIME!  And it’s the same one that Cassie used for the wedding cake, that I’m sure you’ll see next week when it’s her turn to share.

 Cream Filled Cupcakes