Learning how to make caramel frosting is easy. This classic southern recipe without powdered sugar uses evaporated milk as the basis for this caramel. If you are tired of cream cheese or buttercream icing, be sure to keep reading!
How to Make Caramel Frosting with Evaporated Milk
Although there are many versions of this southern classic, making caramel frosting with evaporated milk is one of the most traditional. When I saw that Chriscook4u on YouTube had a recipe for caramel frosting with evaporated milk, I knew that I had to give it a try. Evaporated milk is common in a lot of southern recipes because normal milk, often referred to as “sweet milk” in old fashioned recipes, did not have a long shelf life in the hot, humid climate of the Southeastern United States before refrigeration. Since evaporated milk was so well-suited to the South, a lot of classic southern recipes such as no roux mac and cheese casserole use it instead of regular milk. In addition to its long shelf life, evaporated milk is also a good choice because its lower water content makes the frosting thicker and richer. As you can see, canned milk is a great base for the frosting.
The other two main ingredients are butter and sugar. Butter added richness and body, the saturated fat, which is solid at room temperature, helps to ensure that the frosting will harden as it cools. The sugar adds not only sweetness but also contributes to the body, too: as the melted sugar cools down and hardens, it reinforces the icing. Although there are recipes for caramel icing with sweetened condensed milk, I like using granulated sugar and evaporated milk so that I can cook the sugar with the butter for a few minutes first before adding the evaporated milk. This way, I can slightly caramelize the sugar, the brown bits adding a ton of flavor. With a bit of salt and vanilla acting as the finishing touches, the icing is complete.
Homemade Caramel Frosting
The first step in learning how to make caramel frosting homemade is melting the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and continue cooking over medium heat for five minutes, stirring constantly. Like I already mentioned, cooking the sugar with a mostly dry heat will allow the sugar to brown, adding a ton of flavor.
After five minutes have passed, add 1 cup of evaporated milk: remember to stand back from the stove because it will sizzle. Stir continuously for another 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. It is important to use a deep pot with a thick bottom since the frosting will bubble up during the cooking process: if the pot is too low, the frosting may boil over. When the icing is nearing completion, it will be a light brown caramel color. Although you may be tempted to continue cooking it in order to get a deeper, darker, richer color, it is important to consider that residual heat from the pot will continue to cook the frosting after you turn off the heat. So, if you keep the frosting over the heat until it is the color you “think” you want, it will likely overcook. If your frosting overcooks, it may become bitter from the burned sugar. Even if it does not become bitter, it will become rock hard when it cools–very unpleasant for the palate. Trust me: I know from experience.
After 10 minutes of cooking the evaporated milk, turn off the heat and continue stirring for a few minutes so that the bottom does not burn. Add the salt and vanilla extract, and then put off to the side for about 5 minutes. Once it has cooled down and hardened a bit, it is time to assemble the cake.
Although learning how to make caramel frosting is easy, you have to work quickly when assembling and frosting the cake. Unlike homemade cream cheese frosting, caramel frosting is a cooked frosting that goes from a liquid to a solid as it cools. The moment you turn off the heat, it is both too hot and too runny to put on a cake, so you have to wait a few minutes until the icing reaches the optimal temperature and viscosity. However, like I said, it hardens as it cools, so eventually it will become too stiff to spread: that is why waiting just long enough for the icing to be spreadable is key. In fact, I recommend removing the cake layers from the pans and setting up the platter before you even turn on the heat to melt the butter for the first step in making the frosting. That way, you are not scrambling, trying to get everything together to assemble the cake before the icing gets too hard.
After about five minutes off the heat, the homemade caramel frosting should be just right: cool enough to not roll off the cake like water but still warm enough to spread. Since the frosting can be a bit hard to control, I recommend putting pieces of wax paper on the cake platter so that once the cake is finished, you can pull them away, keeping the platter itself clean. I suggest that you start by pouring the caramel icing into the center of the bottom cake layer and then spreading it outwards towards the edges, being careful so that too much does not fall over the edge. You will notice that the frosting will get a lot thicker and a lot less viscous once it is out of the pot and on the cake for a minute or two. Then, place the second layer on top of the first, and repeat the process, letting some of the excess cascade off the top and down the side of the cake. When icing the top, it is OK if more rolls down the side of the cake since that is the best way to start covering the sides of the cake. It is a good idea to use a knife to smooth out the sides of the cake, but as the frosting cools, touching the frosting will cause it to look bumpy and imperfect once it hardens. Like I already said, it is important to work quickly when using homemade caramel icing.
Easy Caramel Frosting Recipe
How to Make Caramel Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup, 113 grams)
- 1 cup evaporated milk (240 grams) *NOTE: This is 1 cup, NOT a full can, which is usually 340 grams
- 2 cups white sugar (410 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- a bit less than 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- *First, if frosting a cake, remove cake layers from cake pans and prepare platter before you start making the frosting
- Melt butter over medium heat (gasmark 3 /6) for 2-3 minutes
- Once butter is melted, add sugar and continue cooking on medium heat, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes
- After 5 minutes have passed, add the evaporated milk. Keep on medium heat while stirring for 10 minutes
- After cooking with the evaporated milk for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and stir for a few minutes so that the bottom does not burn.
- Add vanilla extract and salt, then set aside for about 5 minutes so that the frosting can harden a bit.
- Frost the cake by pouring the frosting onto the center of the cake and spread it outwards. It will begin to harden fairly quickly.
- Add the second layer of the cake, once again pouring onto the center and allowing some of the frosting to cascade down the sides.
- Although you may use a knife or spatula to patch up certain areas, doing so will cause the hardened frosting to have imperfections.
- Once cake is assembled, put into the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours so that the frosting can set.
YouTube Video
Be sure to watch my YouTube video tutorial:
Links
ChrisCook4u2’s Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/chriscook4u2
