Mama Ruby's Made-From-Scratch Caramel Cake Recipe

Mama Ruby's Delicious Caramel Cake

I love caramel cake—especially my mom's. Luckily for you all, she gave me permission to share her delicious, popular recipe with you all. Learn how to make both the cake and icing from scratch, just the way Mama Ruby does.

A Brief History of Caramel

Caramel is one of my favorite sweets, and it's such a tasty delight! Here's a brief history that you may find interesting: Caramel is basically an American confection that can be traced back to as early as the 17th century. Folks began using caramelized sugar with water to make goodies and ate these as candies.

However, since it was so delicious, easy to make and transport, and had such a long-lasting shelf life, other advanced variations started happening. By the mid-1850s, someone discovered that the addition of milk and fat to the caramelized sugar yielded a sweet, chewy confection, which we know as caramel. Caramel was born and has continued to gain popularity! You can enjoy it with this cake, for one.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 8 ounces of sour cream
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt

For the icing:

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions for the Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 355F.
2. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time and beat. Then, add sour cream.
4. Fully mix in dry ingredients until the batter is relatively smooth.
5. Prepare your three cake pans and lightly butter and flour them.
6. Pour your cake batter into the three lightly buttered and floured pans and smooth out.
7. Bake for about 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let the cake(s) cool for about five minutes in the pan, then turn them over on a cooling rack(s).

Adding eggs to your cake batter

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Instructions for the Caramel Frosting

1. Melt butter and brown sugar, and evaporated milk.
2. Cook for two minutes over medium heat. Add vanilla and mix. (Note: Make sure this is no longer than two minutes so you don't burn your frosting).
3. Remove immediately from heat after two minutes.
4. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

The frosting should be enough for a three-layer cake. Once you are done making both components, frost your cake layers to your liking and enjoy!

© 2008 Barbara Isbill