I’ve been having so much fun baking layered cakes in my kitchen lately, and this eggless butterscotch layered cake is a timeless favorite. The flavors are familiar and comforting, evoking memories of childhood birthday parties where butterscotch often stole the show. Its warm, caramel-like sweetness appeals to both kids and adults, making it a perfect choice for celebrations or a cozy weekend bake.
Today we’ll make an eggless butterscotch layered cake from scratch. The recipe is straightforward and relies on pantry staples, a rich butterscotch sauce, and a smooth buttercream for frosting. Follow the steps and tips below to achieve a soft, moist sponge, a glossy sauce, and a silky buttercream that all come together beautifully.
Elements of the butterscotch cake
This cake has three main components, each easy to prepare with basic ingredients:
- Eggless butterscotch sponge – A soft, airy eggless sponge made with yogurt as the egg substitute. Yogurt adds moisture, richness and helps create a tender crumb. Brown sugar is used to bring out a deep, caramel-like flavor that complements the butterscotch.
- Butterscotch sauce – A luscious sauce that binds the flavors of the cake. Made from brown sugar, butter and fresh cream, it cooks up in about 10 minutes and can be used for the cake, ice cream or other desserts.
- Butterscotch-flavored buttercream – Smooth, spreadable buttercream flavored with the butterscotch sauce. Buttercream provides a silky finish and holds up well for piping and decorating.
If you can’t find butterscotch chips, you can substitute with caramelized cashews: heat 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp water until golden, stir in 1/4 cup cashews to coat, transfer to parchment, cool, then chop and use between the layers for crunchy bites.
Tips to keep in mind
These practical tips will help you get the best results:
- Bring ingredients like yogurt, milk and cream to room temperature before starting.
- Cream butter or mix wet ingredients thoroughly to incorporate air and yield a lighter cake.
- When making the sauce, add room-temperature butter and cream to the melted sugar. Adding cold dairy to hot sugar can cause the sugar to seize.
- Sift icing sugar in batches for a smooth, lump-free buttercream.
- Prepare the cake sponges a day ahead if possible. Chilling the sponges makes assembly easier and reduces stress. To make a single tall layer, you can halve the recipe and bake in one pan.
Assembling the butterscotch cake
Before assembling, have everything ready: cooled sponges, cooled butterscotch sauce, prepared buttercream and a simple sugar syrup made with equal parts sugar and water.
To assemble: place one sponge on your cake board, soak lightly with sugar syrup, and spread a thin layer of buttercream. Drizzle some butterscotch sauce and sprinkle some butterscotch nuts for texture. Top with the second sponge, press gently so the layers adhere, then soak and frost the entire cake with buttercream.
Decorating the butterscotch cake
For a finishing touch, drizzle additional butterscotch sauce on top and push it toward the edges to create a drizzle or drip effect. Pipe extra buttercream accents and garnish with more butterscotch nuts. Keep your decoration simple or experiment with your own style—the key is to enjoy the process.
More layered cake recipes
- Eggless Black Forest Cake
- Fresh Fruit Cake
- Coffee Chocolate Cake
- Eggless Rainbow Cake
Eggless Butterscotch cake recipe
- For cake
- 2 + 1/4 cup (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) oil
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar
- 1 + 1/2 cup (427 g) yogurt
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp (4.5 g) baking soda
- 1 + 1/2 tsp (6 g) baking powder
- 1/2 cup (70 g) butterscotch nuts
- For butterscotch sauce
- 1/4 cup (50 g) butter
- 1/2 cup (115 g) fresh cream
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- For buttercream
- 2 cups (450 g) butter, softened
- 4 cups (520 g) icing sugar, sifted
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) butterscotch sauce
- For sugar syrup
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two 6-inch round baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix yogurt and baking soda. Let it sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
- In a large bowl, whisk oil and brown sugar until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the foamy yogurt mixture and vanilla to the bowl and mix well.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder over the wet ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until combined.
- Fold in the butterscotch nuts.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
- Bake at 180°C for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely before demolding.
- To make the butterscotch sauce, melt brown sugar and butter in a pan over low-medium heat until combined.
- Stir in fresh cream and cook 5–7 minutes until the sauce thickens and comes to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and cool.
- Make the buttercream by beating softened butter on high for 4–5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add half the sifted icing sugar on low speed, then beat on high for about a minute. Add the remaining icing sugar and repeat. Scrape the bowl sides as needed.
- Mix in the butterscotch sauce until evenly incorporated, adjusting consistency if needed.
- For sugar syrup, combine sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool before using.
- To assemble, place one sponge on the cake base, brush with sugar syrup, and spread a thin layer of buttercream. Drizzle butterscotch sauce and sprinkle nuts.
- Top with the second sponge, press gently, soak with syrup, then crumb-coat and fully frost the cake with buttercream.
- Finish with more butterscotch sauce dripped toward the edges, pipe buttercream accents and garnish with butterscotch nuts.
- Refrigerate the cake until ready to slice. Serve and enjoy.
If you make this eggless butterscotch layered cake, please share your photos and tag me on Instagram or Facebook using #bakewithshivesh—I’d love to see your creations!