Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting is foolproof every time, giving you a professional-style finish right at home. With just six ingredients and my expert tips for effortless caramel, this indulgent, airy frosting spreads and pipes beautifully, balances sweet, salty, and smoky notes, and transforms any dessert into a showstopper.

• Simple & Reliable: Perfect results even if you’ve never made caramel before.
• Bakery-Quality at Home: Achieve a professional texture and look without extra equipment.
• Versatile & Impressive: Ideal for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or any dessert needing a finishing touch.

Bakers often tell me that their buttercream ends up too sweet or heavy, almost like sweetened butter. My tricks from over 20 years of experience help prevent this: whip the butter thoroughly before adding any sugar, always sift your powdered sugar, and once all ingredients are combined, whip the mixture on high speed for two minutes. Aerating the frosting this way creates a light, fluffy, and perfectly smooth texture that elevates every dessert.

Salted caramel hits the perfect spot, bringing together sweetness, salt, richness, and a slight smokiness. That’s why Bigger Bolder Bakers always want more of it! We’re here to satisfy your cravings with desserts like Salted Caramel and Peanut Chocolate Tart, Old Fashioned Salted Caramel Fudge, Homemade Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and Salted Caramel & Chocolate Brownie Trifle Recipe.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was improved and updated on 9/14/2025, to include NEW step-by-step photography, the difference between buttercream and frosting, make ahead and storage instructions, answers to the most frequently asked questions, Pro Chef Tips and more delicious buttercream recipes.

Bold Bakers Loved This!

“My buttercream used to taste too sweet and heavy, but whipping the butter first made it so light and fluffy!” — Sarah L.

“Sifting the powdered sugar really makes a difference—I never realized it could be so smooth.” — James M.

“Whipping everything on high speed for a couple of minutes at the end gave my frosting the perfect airy texture.” — Emily R.

Table of Contents

• What is Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting?
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Why
• How to Make Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
• Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• Using Salted Caramel Frosting
• FAQs
• More Delicious Buttercream Recipes

What is Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting?

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting is a rich, creamy mixture of butter and powdered sugar whipped together with homemade salted caramel. The caramel gives it a slightly less sweet, more nuanced flavor than traditional vanilla buttercream.

Buttercream vs. Frosting:

• Buttercream is a specific type of frosting made mainly from butter and sugar, whipped until light, smooth, and airy. It’s ideal for spreading, piping decorations, or layering cakes.
• Frosting is a broader term for any sweet topping on desserts, including buttercream, whipped cream, glaze, or fondant. All buttercreams are frostings, but not all frostings are buttercreams.

American buttercream is a simplified, quick version of European buttercream, often made without meringue, and became popular in the mid-20th century for easy and versatile cake decorating. Adding homemade caramel sauce brings depth, sweetness, and a subtle smoky note that elevates any dessert.

Tools You Need

• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Glass measuring jug
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Heatproof bowl
• Stand mixer with a whisk attachment (optional) or a hand mixer

Key Ingredients and Why

• Granulated sugar

  • Cooked granulated sugar is the base of caramel
  • As the sugar caramelizes, its flavor changes from sharply sugary-sweet to a more profound, intense sweetness like butterscotch or toffee, and it transforms from a white solid to an amber-colored syrup.
  • Check out my troubleshooting guide, How to Make Caramel (Troubleshooting Guide and Video), for detailed pro tips to set you up for success.

• Heavy whipping cream

  • Heavy cream (FRESH CREAM with a fat content of around 36%) enriches the sauce.
  • The cream’s high-fat content contributes to caramel’s velvety texture, enhances flavor complexity, and stabilizes caramel without curdling.
  • The cream needs to be hot in this recipe. Heat it on the stovetop on low, or heat in the microwave in 30-second increments.
  • Note that milk will not work.

• Salt

  • It’s just a half-teaspoon, but the salt takes this buttercream from purely sweet to addictively nuanced.
  • Some recipes call for sea salt, but you can use regular salt here.

• Butter

  • Butter is the foundation of the frosting’s luxurious texture and taste.
  • Butter has to be softened correctly to get the right consistency for frosting. You know your butter is at the right temperature when you push it, and your finger makes an indent, but it doesn’t easily squish right through.
  • I prefer salted over unsalted butter here for extra flavor.

• Powdered sugar

  • Powdered sugar (confectioners or icing sugar) sweetens frosting and gives it a smooth consistency gives it a smooth consistency to frost cakes and use in a piping bag.
  • Powdered sugar rubs against fat from softened butter during creaming, creating air pockets to incorporate air. Meanwhile, icing sugar also coats air pockets to prevent them from drying out, retaining air to stabilize frosting.
  • Always sieve the powdered sugar to remove lumps and make the frosting fluffier.

How to Make Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

To Make the Salted Caramel Sauce

1. Combine sugar and water: In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir the granulated sugar and water together over medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Simmer without stirring: Once the mixture comes to a simmer, stop stirring and watch carefully.
3. Caramelize the sugar: When the sugar turns a deep amber and starts to smell slightly smoky, turn off the heat and immediately whisk in the warm cream and salt. Be careful—caramel will bubble and steam.
4. Smooth the caramel: Once bubbling stops, return to low heat and whisk until smooth. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and let cool completely, about 30 minutes, until it has a spreadable consistency.

To Make the Buttercream

5. Whip the butter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or with a handheld mixer with a large mixing bowl), whip the softened butter on high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

6. Add caramel: With the mixer on low speed, add the cooled caramel and mix until fully incorporated.

7. Incorporate powdered sugar: Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one spoonful at a time.

8. Aerate the frosting: Once all sugar is mixed in, turn the mixer to high speed and whip for 2 more minutes for a light, fluffy texture.

9. Store properly: Notes to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day, refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to 8 weeks. Bring to room temperature and re-whip if needed before using.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW! 

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• Watch the sugar carefully: Keep a close eye as it caramelizes. You want a dark, rich color for flavor, but be careful not to burn it—it’s literally a matter of seconds.
• Have the cream ready: Make sure your cream is hot so you can stop the cooking at the perfect moment.
• Pour with caution: Use a high-sided pot and be very careful when adding the cream. The bubbling steam can cause burns.
• Don’t let caramel cool too much: If it gets too solid, it can be difficult to incorporate into the butter. Go by texture rather than temperature.
• Softened butter is key: Ensure your butter is at the right temperature—soft enough to leave an indent when pressed, but not overly soft. This helps create a smooth, airy frosting.
• Sift powdered sugar: This removes lumps and helps make the frosting fluffier.
• Whip for lightness: Once all ingredients are combined, whip on high for two minutes to aerate the frosting and create a light, fluffy texture.

Make Ahead and Storage Instructions

• At room temperature: You can make the buttercream a day in advance and store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. If your kitchen is warm, it’s best to refrigerate it.
• In the refrigerator: For longer storage, keep the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Allow it to come to room temperature naturally and re-whip if needed before using.
• In the freezer: Buttercream can be frozen in an airtight container for up to eight weeks. Let it thaw at room temperature and re-whip to restore its light, fluffy texture before spreading or piping.

Using Salted Caramel Frosting

• Use this to frost my Best Ever Chocolate Cake or Vanilla Birthday Cake, chocolate cupcakes, pumpkin cake or cupcakes, or cookies!
• For more caramel tips, check out my post How to Make Caramel: Troubleshooting Guide and Video.

FAQs

• Can I make this buttercream if I’ve never made caramel before?

  • Yes! Caramel making is not as complicated as you might think, and homemade is so much better than store-bought caramel sauce. This is a straightforward recipe with no need for special equipment like a candy thermometer, but you do need to follow a few simple rules:
  • Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
  • Unless specified in the recipe, DO NOT stir your caramel once it has started to simmer
  • Cook until you get a rich brown color, but don’t allow the caramel to smoke.
  • For a deeper dive into caramel making, check out How to Make Caramel (Troubleshooting Guide and Video).

• How do I get really fluffy buttercream?

  • The key to the best caramel buttercream frosting is perfectly softened butter. Over-softened butter can not retain air well, which leads to a flat, runny frosting. Under-softened butter will have lumps, leading to a grainy, over-whipped, split frosting.
  • The easiest way to soften butter is to leave it out at room temperature for around three hours.
  • Whip butter (use the whisk attachment and not a paddle attachment) until light and fluffy to build a structure to hold the sugar.  Otherwise, sugar will weigh down the butter leading to a flat heavy frosting.
  • Add the powdered sugar slowly, a spoon at a time so it gets fully incorporated.
  • If you see air bubbles, run your mixer at a low speed at the end of mixing. This will help to smooth out the frosting and remove big air bubbles.

More Delicious Buttercream Recipes

• Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe
• Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
• Foolproof Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
• Best-Ever Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
• Biscoff Buttercream (Cookie Butter Frosting)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was improved and updated on 9/14/2025, to include NEW step-by-step photography, the difference between buttercream and frosting, make ahead and storage instructions, answers to the most frequently asked questions, Pro Chef Tips and more delicious buttercream recipes.

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