A quick salted caramel icing for drizzling over cakes, scones, and cookies. Best with Madagascar vanilla (rich, creamy, classic); any pure vanilla works. Makes about 3/4 cup; enough to drizzle a 10-inch Bundt cake or 24 cookies.
Salted Caramel Icing
Baking
Frostings fillings toppings
Origin: Madagascar
Vanilla: Extract
Easy
A quick salted caramel icing for drizzling over cakes, scones, and cookies. Best with Madagascar vanilla (rich, creamy, classic); any pure vanilla works. Makes about 3/4 cup; enough to drizzle a 10-inch Bundt cake or 24 cookies.
Prep
5 min
Cook
—
Set
20 min
Total
25 min
Servings
12
Diet
—
Ingredients
Adjust yield
servings
Ingredient amounts change with yield. Follow the recipe instructions for times, temperatures, and equipment.
- 2.0 cups (240.0 g)confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 3.0 tbsp (56.0 g)caramel sauce
- ¼ tspflaky sea salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (22.0 ml)water, plus more as needed
- ⅛ tspfine sea salt
- 1.0 tsp (5.0 ml)VanillaGoods pure vanilla extract
Make it at home
- Must-have Piping Bags & Tips Set Fill and pipe neatly, no ziplock-bag mess. View on Amazon › (opens in a new tab)
- Makes it easier OXO Bent Icing Spatula Smooth, even frosting and filling with a flick of the wrist. View on Amazon › (opens in a new tab)
- Worth the upgrade KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt Stand Mixer Does the beating and kneading for you, hands-free. View on Amazon › (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate, VanillaGoods earns from qualifying purchases. We only suggest tools that fit this recipe.
Instructions
- Whisk the confectioners' sugar and salt in a bowl.
- Add the water, caramel sauce, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Adjust with water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until the icing falls from the whisk in a thick ribbon.
- Drizzle or spread over cooled cakes, scones, cookies, or quick breads, and sprinkle with the flaky sea salt. Let set for 15 to 20 minutes.
Tips
- Vanilla swap: use vanilla bean paste 1:1 in place of the extract for visible specks, or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean for each tablespoon of extract.
- Best vanilla for this: Madagascar (rich, creamy, classic), or Mexican (spiced, warm, woodsy). Any pure vanilla works.
- Storage: Keep leftover icing covered at room temperature for up to 2 days; whisk before using.
Recipe FAQ
How long does it take to make salted caramel icing?
Plan on 5 minutes of prep, plus 20 minutes to set. It makes about 3/4 cup; enough to drizzle a 10-inch Bundt cake or 24 cookies.
How should I store salted caramel icing?
Keep leftover icing covered at room temperature for up to 2 days; whisk before using.
Can I use a different form of vanilla?
use vanilla bean paste 1:1 in place of the extract for visible specks, or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean for each tablespoon of extract.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 12 servings this recipe makes.
94
Calories / serving
0.5g
Fat
22.9g
Carbs
0.0g
Protein
22.0g
Sugar
Whole recipe (12 servings): ~1128 cal · 6g fat · 275g carbs · 0g protein · 264g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
Per serving · 94 calories
What it takes to burn one serving
- Brisk walking 18 min·1.1 mi·~2100 steps
- Walking uphill or incline treadmill 13 min·0.7 mi·~1300 steps
- Moderate cycling 10 min·2.0 mi
- Swimming laps 13 min
- Jogging 9 min·0.8 mi·~1450 steps
- Stair climbing 9 min·~800 steps
- Dancing 15 min
- Bodyweight circuit training 10 min
- Cleaning, errands, or playing with the dog 22 min
Rough estimates for one serving, based on standard MET values at about 155 lb. Your own burn depends on body size, effort, and fitness. Shown for context only — food is not something you have to earn.
Made with VanillaGoods
Recipe Rating
0 commentsNo comments yet — be the first to share how this turned out for you.
Leave a comment