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OH. MY. GOODNESS! This was the best cake! I made it for my mother-in-law’s birthday and she can’t stop talking about how delicious it was. I think I’ll be making this every year now!
Laura
That’s soft homemade caramel + melted chocolate you’re gazing at.
Smooshed into the middle layer of that piece of “cake”.
And now I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath and for me to wipe the warm chocolate and drippy caramel off my forehead. Things got crazy.
In general, I try not to make really obnoxiously lofty claims around here, like “best recipe that ever existed”, “the only recipe you’ll ever need”, “the recipe that will change your life”. But I’ll just give it to you straight: THIS RECIPE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Right now I’m having a hard time thinking of any other dessert that I’ve made, like, ever, that even comes close to the overwhelming chocolatey insanity of this gooey chocolate caramel cake. Which is why as soon as this touched my lips I declared the good news: BEST DESSERT EVER.
There was a moment soon after this came out of the oven where Bjork sat at the table, and I leaned up against the counter, and we both just silently swooned over our bowls of warm, fudgy chocolate caramel cake. It was like we couldn’t even talk. We just looked at each other and shook our heads and nodded and took another bite. Repeat x100.
Oh, hey, guys? This is gooey.
No apologies. It’s meant to be that way. Like, if you bake it and think it will be like a fluffy cake, you are going to be surprised because it’s really not like a fluffy cake.
It’s like the richest fudgy brownie that doesn’t even bake all the way stuffed with perfectly soft caramel in the middle. Oozing. Melting. Making a mess. Caramel pooling around the spot where you attacked it with a spoon straight outta the oven.
You won’t really cut it into pieces because it’s gooey. Did I say that already? It’s more of a scoop out into a bowl and eat with a spoon typa thing. Or face plant. Whatever works.
Intensely rich, chocolatey, and fudgy. It WILL change your life.
Gooey Chocolate Caramel Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
This gooey chocolate caramel cake is intensely rich and fudgy. Baked to gooey perfection with a layer of homemade caramel in the middle.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda (divided)
- 1 ¾ teaspoon salt (divided)
- 2/3 cup butter flavored shortening
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft or melted
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup salted butter
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
Instructions
- Cake: Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir until well combined. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture (I just used my fingers) until very fine crumbs form. It should look like a cake mix. Add the unsalted butter and milk; mix until a thick dough forms.
- Caramel: Melt the salted butter over medium low heat. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a very low boil, stirring constantly. Let it cook over very low, gentle heat, so that the mixture is just barely bubbling if at all. If you heat it too much, it won’t stay soft in the bars, so just heat it enough to thicken it slightly. After about 10 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in ½ teaspoon baking soda. The caramel will foam and bubble – stir or whisk until it’s thick and creamy and mostly smooth.
- Layer and Bake: Preheat the oven to 350. Spread half of the batter on the bottom of your baking dish. Cover with the chocolate chips and a layer of caramel (I recommend using about 2/3 of the batch that you just made and reserving the rest for something else). Spoon the rest of the dough over the caramel layer and spread until the pan is evenly covered. Bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your pan size and how gooey you want it (see notes).
- Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving. Store at room temperature to keep it soft; it will firm up a little bit as you let it rest.
Notes
Gooey-ness: I photographed the finished cake the next day to allow time for it to stick together better. This cake will not set up as a normal cake would – it is fudgy and GOOEY. As a less-gooey alternative, you could bake the bottom cake layer for a few minutes ahead of time (maybe 5-10) to get a more firm, solid brownie-like base.
Top layer: It is difficult to spread the dough over the warm caramel without making a huge mess. Drop the dough in spoonfuls evenly over the top before trying to spread it into a top layer.
Baking dish: I used a square 9-inch glass baking dish. It was the perfect thickness, in my opinion, but it bubbled over the sides while baking so if you use this size you’ll want to put a pan underneath it. If you use a 9×13 pan, you wouldn’t need to bake it as long.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chocolate caramel cake, gooey chocolate cake, caramel cake
OH. MY. GOODNESS! This was the best cake! I made it for my mother-in-law’s birthday and she can’t stop talking about how delicious it was. I think I’ll be making this every year now!
I followed the recipe exactly, but I ended up with Swiss mushroom steak and bell peppers. Not sure why that goes on top of the cake. I personally think rice would be better. Anyway, how do I make the meat more tender? It was delicious, but too chewy. I have family coming in this weekend and I think they will love the gooey chocolate caramel cake as much as me. Thanks.
Made this cake. It was delicious. Like a two bite brownie had a run-in with a caramel square.
I put a little less corn syrup and a bit of cream in the caramel to keep it softer.
I took 2é3 of my dough and squashed in my turkey pan (12X16). I added the caramel on top and for the top layer of cake, i rolled it out like pie dough between two sheets of parchment paper. I peeled off one sheet, and hung it over my rolling pin. I draped it over the caramel. I fit perfectly.
I also double the recipe as we expected 16 guest. The 12 guest who came ate half the pan so standard recipe is enough for 12-14 for sure. They all enjoyed it enormously. I served it with a side of leftover caramel, a side of chocolate and a tart fruit compote.
I baked it for 23 minutes at 350 Convection. It was perfect.
Hi, this looks very decadent, rich and yummy. What is a good substitute for corn syrup? We don’t use it in Australia. I believe it doesn’t get good press but you guys seem to use it a lot. What’s the best option for this recipe? Liquid glucose, honey, agave, maple syrup, rice malt syrup..???
I’d use honey, agave, or maple syrup!
Can I use butter instead of shortening
Yep, I think that would work!
This cake was a total hit!!! I did it the first time without shortening and the second time with and it turned out great both ways. My friends love it and my husband is obsessed.
Love hearing that, Marisha!
would it come out the same if i don’t put the shortening?
I’m not sure where to purchase butter flavored shortening… could I sub in straight up butter? unsalted even?
Sure!
Hi Lindsay
Just wondering if I can make this ahead and then freeze? Do you know if it freezes well?
Thanks!
Amy
Made this today as my husband’s birthday cake. Awesome recipe! For the top layer, I took small portions of the dough and flattened to a square about a half inch thick. Doing this I pieced together a top “crust”. It worked great and did not smoosh the caramel around. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment Sarah!
I made this today and oh, man. DELICIOUS. Incredibly rich, but fantastic! I used a 9×9 pan and baked the bottom crust for 7-8 min to set it up a bit. Thanks for the tip to use a cookie sheet below the smaller pans! It didn’t boil over much, but the caramel would have been a pain to clean up.
Ohhhh yes. This is a rich one. Glad you liked it!
I am assuming you mean 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda in the caramel not Baking Powder since you only have BS listed in the ingredients. Going to try it. Looks delish!
yep! Thanks for the correction.
Okay tried this last week and it was AMAZING! Seriously. My mother and I both have major sweetoothes (her more caramel, mine more chocolate – still pretty equal though) and it was such a decadence. I used the leftover caramel to drizzle on top haha. I used a 9×13 inch pan and while it was still delicious, I would recommend using the 8×8 size instead. It was just more difficult to spread everything around. WELL DONE with this, definitely a keeper! Make sure to have some ice cream or a big glass of milk around when time to eat – you will need it!
Oh man, I had almost forgotten about this epic cake. Thank you for the comment/reminder! 🙂
I can only say one thing: Oh Em Gee! Caramel and Chocolate is the best food combination ever and in my opinion should be its own food group. Thanks for the recipe – I am going out to get what I need now…
Oh sweet lord how did I miss this cake?????? I would die and go to heaven for a big fat slice of this sucker right now. So much chocolate! So much gooey!
Your blog is so beautiful! All of the recipes look so delicious! I can’t wait to make this cake! I know my children will love it! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you Sara! That makes me happy. 🙂