Let me tell you about this burnt caramel buttercream. It’s not overly sweet or something you’d want to eat off a spoon—if you prefer a lighter, sweeter frosting try the fluffy caramel frosting instead. This buttercream’s real purpose is to complement a chocolate stout cake. On that cake it is simply magical; it’s the exact pairing I served to Anthony Bourdain in 2008. For the full cake story, see the stout cake recipe on the same site.
For easy browsing of other frostings, see the icing and frosting recipes collection.
Burnt Caramel Buttercream, At a Glance
✅Skill Level: Advanced
✅Skills: Cooking a very dark caramel, making a sugar syrup, making a French buttercream
✅Type: French Buttercream
✅Number of Ingredients: 6
✅Prep Time: 20 minutes
✅Cook Time: 15 minutes
✅Yield: about 4 cups
Jump Straight to the Recipe
Why Bother Making Something Called Burnt Caramel Buttercream?
The main reason to make this buttercream is its pairing with a stout chocolate cake. The toasty, roasty notes of the stout are echoed by the dark, almost mahogany caramel in the buttercream, creating a balanced, sophisticated finish.
This is not a spoon-licker style frosting; it’s intentionally deep, slightly bitter at the edge, and refined. A short ingredient list keeps the flavor focused, but the technique requires attention: you’ll push sugar to a very dark color and manage multiple steps at once.
If you’d rather avoid working with very dark caramel, erminé frosting (a flour-and-milk–based buttercream) is an excellent, less technical alternative for chocolate cake.
Do You Really Burn the Caramel?
No — you don’t actually burn it, but you do cook the sugar to a deep mahogany color. The caramel may smoke slightly and cause eye irritation; that’s a sign it’s reached the right stage. To stop it from continuing to cook, briefly set the bottom of the pan in an ice bath for a few seconds before you pour it into the mixer. Always have an ice bath ready when you make this buttercream.
Making the Buttercream, Long Form Video
There’s a detailed, long-form video that walks through the entire process in real time if you want to watch the technique step by step.
How To Make This Frosting, Step by Step
The ingredient list is short and focused. You’ll need egg yolks, granulated sugar, light corn syrup, butter, fine sea salt, and optional espresso powder to deepen the flavor.
Key ingredients at a glance:
- 4 ounces egg yolks (about 7–8 yolks)
- granulated sugar and a little water to dissolve it
- light corn syrup brought to a rolling boil
- 1 pound butter, cool but soft, cut into tablespoon pieces
- fine sea salt
- espresso powder (optional, but highly recommended)
General method:
- Whip the yolks and salt in a mixer until smooth.
- Bring corn syrup to a full rolling boil and stream it slowly into the beating yolks, increasing the mixer speed.
- Cook sugar with a splash of water to dissolve, then boil until it reaches a deep, dark caramel color. When it’s ready, briefly cool the pan in an ice bath.
- Slowly pour the caramel into the mixing bowl in a thin stream while the yolks are whipping.
- Whip the mixture until it’s nearly warm to the touch, then add the cool butter a few pieces at a time. Add espresso powder if using.
- Beat until the buttercream is light, smooth, and fluffy.
The result is an incredibly smooth French-style buttercream with intense caramel depth — perfect for frosting and filling a 9″ chocolate stout cake.
More Delicious Buttercream Recipes
If you enjoy European-style buttercream, try the Swiss mint buttercream for a silky, minty option that tastes like a buttermint in frosting form. Ermine frosting is another favorite, especially with chocolate cakes and red velvet. A mocha frosting also complements chocolate beautifully.
Questions?
If you have questions about the recipe or technique, leave a comment on the post and I’ll respond. You can also ask questions in the Facebook group Fearless Kitchen Fun, or email with more urgent queries.
A Note About Measurements
Most recipes here are written by weight, including liquids, for reliable and consistent results. For best outcomes I strongly recommend using a kitchen scale; it makes baking more accurate and cleanup easier.
Using a good digital kitchen scale will improve consistency in your bakes.
Love This Buttercream? Please Rate and Review. Thanks!
Your rating and comments help other readers decide whether to try this recipe, and your feedback helps improve recipes on the site. Thank you for taking a moment to share your experience.
Burnt Caramel Buttercream
Jennifer Field
The recipe yields enough to generously frost a 9″ layer cake with about 1 cup leftover, or fill and frost a layered cake if you choose.
Video
Equipment
-
Stand mixer with whisk attachment
-
Small offset spatula
-
Small saucepan for caramel
Ingredients
- 4 ounces egg yolks 7–8 yolks
- 5.5 oz granulated sugar
- 5.5 oz light corn syrup
- 1 pound butter 4 sticks, cool but soft, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional but recommended
Instructions
-
Have a bowl of ice water ready, large enough to hold the bottom of the caramel pan. Set aside.
-
Place egg yolks and salt in the mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed.
-
Bring corn syrup to a full rolling boil in a small saucepan. Slowly stream the boiling corn syrup into the beating yolks, pouring down the inside of the bowl so it goes into the mixture rather than onto the whisk. Increase mixer speed to high.
-
In another small saucepan, combine sugar with about 1/4 cup water and heat to dissolve, then bring to a boil. Cover briefly to wash down any crystals on the pan sides with steam.
-
Remove the lid, turn the heat to high and watch the sugar. When it begins to color, you can swirl the pan to encourage even coloring. When it reaches a very light amber, reduce to medium heat and, if needed, stir with a wooden spoon to encourage even color development.
-
Take the sugar to a dark caramel — it may smoke slightly. When it reaches the right deep color, remove the pan from heat and briefly dunk the bottom in the ice water for a couple of seconds to cool the pan and stop further cooking.
-
Slowly pour the caramel in a thin stream into the still-beating yolk and corn syrup mixture, pouring down the inner surface of the bowl. Continue whipping until the mixture is just warm to the touch.
-
Add the cool butter, a few pieces at a time, along with the espresso powder if using. Beat until the buttercream is light, smooth, and fluffy.
-
This amount will generously frost the top and sides of a 9″ chocolate stout cake and leave about 1 cup extra. If you torte and fill the cake you may use all of it.
Nutrition
Hi, y’all! I hope this post was helpful and that you learned a few useful techniques.
If you like this style, consider signing up for the occasional newsletter, The Inbox Pastry Chef, for updates on new recipes and a bit of behind-the-scenes content.
And there you have it — enjoy this caramel buttercream, friends.
Thank you for spending some time here. Take care.