Chocolate Caramel Cake

This moist and tender chocolate caramel cake is layered with smooth salted caramel! It’s made in just one bowl, and I love that there are no eggs, butter, or milk.

Want more chocolate cake recipes? Try my chocolate peanut butter cake, chocolate raspberry cake, and Death by Chocolate cake!

This caramel chocolate cake is the show-stopping dessert I keep in my back pocket for special occasions…or when I want to show off a little.

Starting with chocolate cake, it’s taken over the top (literally) with a gooey caramel topping and a sprinkle of sea salt. The results speak for themselves: a simple yet elegant, deeply flavorful cake that’s deceptively easy to make. 

Table of Contents

1. Why I love this recipe
2. Ingredients needed
3. How to make chocolate caramel cake
4. Recipe tips and variations
5. Storage instructions
6. More impressive chocolate cake recipes to try
7. Chocolate Caramel Cake (Recipe Card)

Why I love this recipe

• Naturally vegan. With no eggs, butter, or milk needed, you’d never be able to tell by how moist and fluffy it is! 
• The easiest dessert. No complicated kitchen gear or skills are needed to get this showstopper on the table. 
• Perfect texture. The chocolate cake is tender with the perfect crumb, and the smooth caramel on top ties the whole thing together. 
• Made in one bowl. So clean-up is kept to a minimum. Just how I like it!

Ingredients needed

• All purpose flour– Sift your flour first, to ensure that there are no clumps in the batter. To ensure this remains a gluten free cake, use gluten free all purpose flour. 
• Cocoa powder– Dutch processed cocoa powder or dark cocoa powder. The dark cocoa powder gives the cake a richer flavor. 
• Sugar of choice– Any sugar can be used. White sugar, brown sugar, or even coconut sugar can be used.
• Baking soda– Works with vinegar to give the cake some rise and fluffiness without needing any eggs whatsoever. 
• Salt– Brings out the sweetness of the cake, and also sprinkle on the caramel. 
• Vinegar– Either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be used. If you don’t have vinegar, you can also use lemon juice, but it doesn’t achieve the same fluffiness. 
• Vanilla Extract– A must for any good cake recipe! 
• Oil of choice– Use a neutral flavored oil, like canola, vegetable, or safflower oil. 
• Water– To mix everything together. I also tried this with unsweetened almond milk and noticed no difference.
• Caramel sauce– To layer the cake with and spread all over and around! I used my vegan caramel, but you can use any caramel sauce of choice! 

How to make chocolate caramel cake

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and grease an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray.

Step 2- Make the cake batter. In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients and stir well. Add your wet ingredients and whisk until a thick cake batter mixture remains.

Step 3- Bake. Spoon the cake batter into the greased pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely.
Step 4- Top with caramel. Once the cake is cool, frost with the caramel. For a salted caramel, add a sprinkle of salt all over it.

Recipe tips and variations

• If you’d like to make a layer cake or triple-layer cake, simply grease two or three 8-inch cake pans and bake them at the same time as a single-layer cake. 
• Avoid overmixing, as the more you mix, the more gluten develops and the denser the cake will be. Mix only until you have a smooth, cohesive batter. 
• My homemade caramel sauce is thick, like dulce de leche. If you’d like a smoother and thinner caramel sauce, use store-bought or a homemade version using brown sugar and butter.
• If you’d like this to be a plain caramel cake instead of a salted caramel cake, simply omit the salt sprinkling between each layer. 
• I’m lazy and prefer the “low-effort” look of fully coating the cake in caramel. But if you want to go the extra mile, carefully pour the caramel directly on top of the cake until it begins to drip down the edges. Don’t worry if it looks uneven–it’s supposed to!

Storage instructions

To store: The cake can be stored in the refrigerator, in a sealed container, or covered in plastic. It will keep fresh for up to two weeks. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before enjoying.

To freeze: Slices of cake can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Be sure that the slices are completely sealed, either in a container or covered in plastic wrap. 

More impressive chocolate cake recipes to try

• Mint chocolate cake– Moist, fluffy chocolate cake layered with refreshing mint frosting. 
• Hot chocolate cake– All the warmth of a warm cup of hot chocolate but baked into a rich chocolate cake. 
• Flourless chocolate cake– My go-to dessert when we run out of flour. 
• Biscoff cake– A decadent layered cake featuring rich chocolate cake covered in Biscoff buttercream.

Originally published September 2020, updated and republished March 2024