Salted Caramel Chocolate Drip Cake Recipe

Salted Caramel Chocolate Drip Cake. This recipe features three layers of chocolate cake layered with decadent salted caramel and finished off with a salted caramel buttercream frosting. It is then topped of with a chocolate ganache drip. This is hands down the best chocolate cake recipe! Every layer is fudgy, rich, and moist, and is perfectly balanced by the sweet and salty caramel. This chocolate drip cake is guaranteed to be a show stopper!

I love the pairing of salty and sweet. Which is why I am starting my week off with a show stopper three tier cake. If you are looking for other salty and sweet desserts, try one of these:

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Strawberry Linzer Heart Cookies

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

Top Reasons To Make This Chocolate Drip Cake

• Variety. This recipe provides you with the perfect base to create the cake of your dreams! There are tons of different types of drip cakes and you can tweak this recipe to fit your needs.
• Fool proof fudgy chocolate cake. Even if you just use this recipe for the homemade chocolate cake, I promise you it will be the fudgiest chocolate cake you have ever made!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Drip Cake Key Ingredients

• COCOA POWDER. The cocoa powder gives this cake its deep chocolate flavor.
• BOILING WATER. This is a family secret! I add this because it makes the cake soft and fluffy. It also enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake. Adding boiling water into the cake mix also prolongs the storage life of the cake!
• BUTTERMILK. I like to use buttermilk because it adds so much moisture to your chocolate cake, making for a super rich and decadent chocolate cake. If you do not have this, you can make your own with whole milk and lemon or vinegar. Otherwise you can also use whole milk.
• VEGETABLE OIL. I use a flavorless vegetable oil but you can also use canola oil. I use oil over butter because it adds moisture to the cake but if you do not have any, you can replace it for melted butter.
• CHOCOLATE BARS. The melted chocolate is what makes this cake SO FUDGY! I used Skinny Dipped Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars but you can use any semisweet chocolate.
• CASHEWS. The cashews add a nice crunch to the cake. I use Skinny Dipped Salted Caramel Cashews but you can use any brand of cashews or even a different kind of nut like peanuts, pecans, almonds etc.
• CARAMEL. I made homemade caramel for this cake but if you want to skip a step, you can buy any store bought caramel sauce.
• FLAKY SEA SALT. Flaky sea salt is best. The texture melts in your mouth easier than a regular, more coarse sea salt. But you can replace this with any sea salt.

Variations and Substitutions

• Nut Allergy? Eliminate the cashews!
• Short on time? Use a store bought caramel. This will save you a bunch of time and still give you perfect flavors to balance out the decadent chocolate cake.
• Don't like caramel? Try other flavor pairings. This would go great with a layer of melted peanut butter and topped with some roasted peanuts!

Step by Step Directions

Fudgy Chocolate Cake

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. Then add your oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and eggs. Mix until combined. Slowly add your boiling water, while mixing on medium speed. 

2. Melt your chocolate cars. To do this, chop up your chocolate bars and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If still not melted, microwave again in 15 second intervals, stirring in between each one. Add the melted chocolate to your batter. Mix until combined. 

3. Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Evenly divide the batter into these three pans and smooth out with spatula. Bake the cakes at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Take out and let them cool completely. 

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1. In a heavy bottom saucepan, melt your sugar on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Your sugar should first clump up, then melt, and then turn an amber color. Keep a close eye on this or it can burn fast. Once there are no more clumps and the sugar is completely melted and a golden amber color, take off heat. 

2. Immediately add your butter (diced up). Your mixture will rapidly boil. Vigorously stir until the butter and sugar are combined. This will take a few minutes for the two to combine (about 3 minutes) so keep stirring. 

3. Once combined, add back to the heat (medium heat) and heat until bubbling again. Then slowly add your heavy cream while whisking. Whisk until combined. Once combined, stop stirring and let mixture boil again (it will rise to the top of the pan). Once this happens, take it off of the heat. Stir in your salt and let cool at room temp for 30 minutes. Then place in the fridge to continue cooling for at least another 30 minutes, allowing it to thicken. 

Homemade Caramel Buttercream

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat your butter until soft and airy. Then add your powdered sugar and beat on medium speed. Your mixture should first clump up then smooth out. Then add your chilled caramel, heavy cream, and vanilla. Mix until completely combined. 

Chocolate Ganache Drip

1. Chop up your chocolate bars and place in a heat safe bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, add your heavy cream and simmer on medium heat. Once the cream starts lightly bubbling, remove from heat and pour over chocolate. 

3. Do not stir right away. Let the mixture sit for about 3 minutes. Then stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside

4. With your cashews, roughly chop about half of them, leaving the other half alone. Set aside. 

Assemble Salted Caramel Chocolate Drip Cake

1. On a cake stand or plate, place your first layer of cake (make sure to not forget to remove your parchment paper from your cake layers). Then place a heaping scoop of buttercream on top. Spread out your buttercream creating a well in the center. 

2. In the center of your well, pour on about ½ of your remaining caramel. Do not over fill your well or it will pour out the sides and you will have a mess. It is ok if you use less than half. 

3. Then sprinkle on about half of your chopped nuts. 

4. Repeat for the second layer, using up the remaining caramel and chopped nuts (you may have left over caramel which is okay). 

5. Top off your cake with your third layer of chocolate cake. 

6. Using up about ⅓ of your remaining buttercream, frost on a crumb coat (a thin layer of frosting). Then place the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Once your crumb coat is chilled and set, use the majority of your remaining frosting to frost your cake. Use a spatula to smooth out your frosting. 

7. Pour on your chocolate ganache and use a spatula to smooth it out, letting chocolate drip over the top edges, creating a pretty drip look. Let the chocolate completely cool and then place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

8. Using any remaining buttercream, pipe on a decorative edge and sprinkle on your remaining nuts for decoration. 

9. Serve and enjoy!

Baking Tips

1. Add boiling water to your batter! This makes your chocolate cake more soft and fluffy and also enhances the chocolate flavor. It also helps to prolong the shelf life of your cake.
2. Line your baking pans with parchment paper instead of butter and flour. If using non-stick pans, butter and flour can burn the edges. I recommend cutting circles out of parchment paper instead.
3. When assembling the cake, trim the tops off of your cake layers to make a flat top, so your cake will build up straight!
4. When spreading on your buttercream in between each layer, form a well with the buttercream that your caramel can sit in. DO NOT overfill with caramel or you will have a mess.
5. When frosting your cake, do a crumb coat first. This will help you frost a clean smooth cake.

FAQ

Lastly, if you try out this Salted Caramel Chocolate Drip Cake recipe, be sure to leave a comment/rating on how it turned out. I love hearing from you guys and will try my best to reply to every comment! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!