Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Cake Recipe

Heellllooo out there!  Long time no see!  I’m so excited that I finally have the chance to create a brand new post for all of you.  This one is a pretty sweet one… literally!

When Daniel’s birthday comes around, I always love to bake him a delicious and unique treat.  In the past I’ve made him cheesecake, as that’s one of his favorite desserts.  This year, however, I was very inspired by all the boozy cupcake recipes I had been seeing on Pinterest.  After hinting a little at some possible ideas, Daniel told me he’d rather have a cake over cupcakes.  So I looked at various recipes for some ideas, and eventually created this Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Cake recipe!  Then I found a Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting to top it with.  Excited?  Check it out!

Ingredients for Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Cake

The Cake – Here’s what you need:

  • 1 box of chocolate cake mix
  • 2 TBSP of whiskey
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • Milk
  • Butter
  • Eggs
  • 1 jar of salted caramel sauce

Ok, I know some people believe using a cake mix is blasphemous, but I was running on limited time and needed that little bit of extra help (did I mention I was also making Daniel a birthday dinner?).  I obviously wanted to serve a delicious cake, so I looked up some tips on how to make cake mix taste homemade.

Here’s what you do:

Follow the directions for the cake mix, BUT replace water with milk and vegetable oil with softened butter.  Also, add in one extra egg than the cake mix calls for.  Also add 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 2 TBSP of whiskey.  Mix until combined.

Divide batter into two, lightly oiled 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.  Swirl about 1 TBSP of salted caramel sauce into each pan.

Salted Caramel Drizzle in Cake Batter

Bake as directed, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool completely on cooling racks.

Finished Cake Layers

While your cakes are cooling you can make the Salted Caramel Frosting!  I followed this recipe, except I doubled it so I would have enough to frost a two-layer cake and add decorative piping.

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

The Frosting – Here’s what you need:

  • 2 cups of butter (room temperature)
  • 2/3 cup salted caramel sauce
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups of powdered sugar
  • 2 pinches of salt

Here’s what you do:

  1. In a large bowl, beat butter for 1 minute with an electric mixer.
  2. Add salted caramel and vanilla extract, beat for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of your bowl.
  3. On a low speed, beat in powdered sugar and salt until incorporated.
  4. Increase speed and beat for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until frosting is creamy and well-combined.

If you prefer desserts that aren’t too sweet, you will probably want to find a different frosting, as this one is pretty sugary!

Once your cakes have cooled, use a serrated knife to slice off the rounded top layer of each cake, making cakes flat on both sides.

Spread Buttercream Frosting Between Both Cake Layers

Spread about a 1/4-1/2 in. layer of frosting on one cake and top with the other.  Then all that’s left is to frost the whole cake and add some decorative piping.  I also drizzled more salted caramel sauce on top and sprinkled a little coarse salt for garnish.  Take a look at the finished cake below!

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Cake

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Birthday Cake

Daniel with his Chocolate and Salted Caramel Whiskey Birthday Cake

I’m happy to say Daniel loved the cake (can you tell?), as did I!  I hope all of you will enjoy it as well!

Note:  The whiskey flavor is subtle.  If you want more pronounced flavor, I suggest sprinkling whiskey on the cakes as soon as they come out of the oven, allowing the cakes to absorb the liquid while they cool.

As always, let me know in the comments section if you make the cake and how it turns out!  Can’t wait to hear from you.  Happy Eating!

Bonus!  You all know how I love to share gift wrapping that I’ve done.  For Daniel’s birthday I decided to focus on a modern color scheme – check it out!

Blue and Green Color Scheme Gift Wrapping

[The “To My Human” card is from our cat!]

Beatles Birthday Gift Wrapping

Blue and Green Gift Wrapping Close Up

Close Up of Blue and Green Gift Wrapping


2 responses

  • This cake looks so yummy…. Lucky for me it’s grocery day and I think I have most of these ingredients! Just need butter and caramel sauce.
    I’m about to celebrate my 1 year anniversary here in Vancouver, Washington…..coming from Southern California…. Isn’t it gorgeous up here? Love your blog!


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