This fluffy caramel frosting is light on the tongue but has rich caramel flavor. A hybrid frosting, it combines homemade caramel with evaporated milk as the base. Whip in powdered sugar and softened butter, and you have a caramel icing that spreads beautifully, remains workable for a very long time, and tastes delicious.
112gramsevaporated milk4 oz or about a generous 1/3 cup, substitute heavy cream if you have it
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
336gramsbutter, cut into 1 Tablespoon pieces (divided use)12 oz or 3 sticks
224gramspowdered sugar8 oz or about 2 cups
Instructions
In a pot that is very much bigger than you think you need, place the granulated sugar, salt, and water.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Once it comes to a boil, stop stirring and cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar turns a medium-to-dark amber color.
Immediately remove from the heat and pour in the evaporated milk. It will boil up madly, so seriously, do not skimp on your pan size here.
Stir until the mixture is smooth.
Add the vanilla and 1/3 of the butter (112 grams/1 stick/4 oz). Whisk until the butter has completely melted.
Pour the caramel mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer, or into a large metal bowl, and refrigerate to cool room temperature, about 2 hours.
Place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the whip attachment, or with a hand mixer, whip the caramel until it lightens in color.
Add the powdered sugar gradually, and whip until smooth and pale caramel in color. Scrape the bowl as necessary.
With the mixer on high speed, whip in the remaining softened butter, a tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to get completely incorporated before adding more, about 15 seconds or so.
Once all the butter is in, scrape the bowl well, and whip an additional minute or so.
Use immediately to frost and fill an 8" or 9" layer cake. You can also refrigerate the frosting for 3-4 days. Let it sit out at room temperature for 3 hours or so to soften, and then re-whip to restore its light texture before frosting your cake/s.
Notes
SAFETYPlease make sure to use a 3-quart saucepan to cook the caramel. The mixture will boil up alarmingly once you add the evaporated milk, and the last thing you want is molten caramel all over your stove.TEXTUREWhen you add the evaporated milk and stir, you may notice that the mixture is not completely smooth. This is okay. it's because there is not a ton of water in evaporated milk and not much butterfat, and the milk proteins may "clump" a little bit. Worry not, your caramel frosting will come out smooth, fluffy, and beautiful. I just wanted you to be aware that it won't look the same as caramel with heavy cream in it.STORINGPress plastic wrap directly on the surface of the frosting and keep in a tightly-covered container for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.Allow the frosting to come to room temperature before whipping to restore its texture.