Ridiculously Easy Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake

With just one bowl and a whisk, you can put together this FABULOUS Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake. The melt-in-your-mouth caramel icing is as easy as the cake!

I'm a big believer in a healthy balance when it comes to our dietary intake. Translated, that means an emphasis on veggies, fruits and lean protein with an occasional sweet treat. And, as much as I love to bake and create new recipes for cakes, cookies, tarts, etc., limiting our intake of these confections is always on my mind. That being said, one bite of this amazing Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake threw all my resolve right out the window!

I've had quite a few taste-testers this past week, big and little, as our children and six grandchildren have been in and out of our house like a revolving hotel door since we returned from France. They ALL gave this Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake a huge thumbs up and our daughter, Cait, went back home and told her husband, "I think mom just made the best cake that I've ever tasted!" (and, growing up in this house, she's tried a LOT of cakes). That pretty much summed up the response of everyone else who's tried it!

In addition to being a universal crowd-pleaser, this moist tender-crumbed Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake recipe is stirred up easily with one bowl and a whisk. The crazy-delicious, melt-in-your-mouth caramel icing takes just a few minutes to make while the cake bakes. A winner all the way around!

Ridiculously Easy

Because this cake recipe is super easy and comes together so quickly, I knew it had to be added to our ever-growing collection of Ridiculously Easy recipes. You can read more about the guidelines for our RE recipes in this post but, to keep it simple, they're the recipes that make you look like a culinary rock star with minimal effort on your part. So, if you enjoy entertaining but don't have an overabundance of spare time to spend in the kitchen, these will become your "go-to" recipes! They are definitely my favorites!

The easy steps

I discovered this cake recipe over on the Taste of Home website but when I read through their instructions, I knew it could be simplified. They call it a White Texas Sheet Cake and their recipe steps include using a pot on the stovetop as well as two separate bowls to put this cake together. I adapted their recipe to the microwave with just one bowl and a whisk needed.

This is how it works:

• Combine butter and water in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high power for 2 minutes
• Whisk in the buttermilk, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla and a few drops of almond extract.
• Add the flour and sugar and stir until smooth.
• Transfer the batter to a pan and bake.

That's it! See what I mean? Easy, ridiculously easy!

The caramel icing comes together just as easily during the last few minutes of baking:

• Combine butter and brown sugar in a pot on the stovetop.
• Bring to a boil and add a splash of buttermilk and flavoring extracts. Sir and return to a boil.
• Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
• Pour over the cake and spread to the edges. Swirl a bit or leave it smooth.

Done! Oops, one more thing: wipe the drool off your mouth and try to wait a short time to let the cake cool.

What size pan should I use for this Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake?

There are actually two answers to this question. You can use a regular half sheet pan which is 18x13 inches OR a jelly roll pan which is a little smaller, measuring 15x10 inches. The sheet pan will yield a larger but thinner cake and icing, the jelly roll pan, a thicker cake with a thicker icing. My preference? I really like making sheet cakes like this in the smaller, jelly roll pan, but either will work.

A keeper!

Check out the Café Tips below to ensure success then put this AMAZING Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake on your must-make-soon list. You'll flip when you taste the moist, tender crumb and the buttery, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth caramel icing. Don't be surprised if someone describes it "as the best cake they've ever tasted!"

Cafe Tips for making this Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake

• You'll need a microwave-safe bowl to make the cake batter for this recipe. What is a microwave-safe bowl? It's a bowl made from glass or material that won't melt, get too hot, cause damage to the microwave or release chemicals when exposed to microwave rays. If you look at the bottom of a bowl, it should say "microwave-safe" or have the microwave symbol:

• This recipe calls for buttermilk, both in the cake and in the icing. If you don't want to purchase buttermilk, just for this recipe, you could sub an equal amount of yogurt or sour cream.
• You can also make your own buttermilk. Just add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill the cup to the one half marking with milk. Stir well, then wait 5 minutes and stir again. Use this in place of the buttermilk.
• If you don't have buttermilk for the icing, milk or half and half will also work well.
• I use salted butter to make this Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake. If only have unsalted butter, add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt.
• Although you can use any type of stirring implement for this Caramel Buttermilk Sheet Cake, a whisk works really well. If you don't have a whisk in your cooking collection, it's a really handy kitchen tool to add. A good whisk is not expensive and can be used for quickly stirring lots of things and gets the lumps out with minimal effort.
• As mentioned above, you can use a standard half sheet pan for this recipe OR a jelly roll pan. I really prefer using a jelly roll pan as it yields a thicker cake and thicker icing.
• The caramel icing recipe calls for dark brown sugar. In a pinch, you could use light brown sugar but the icing won't have that beautiful deep caramel color.
• Dark brown sugar can vary vastly in hue. I look for the darkest brown sugar available. In my area of the country, Laura Lynn (a store brand) and Dixie Crystal are really nice dark brown sugars. I've found Dominio to be about the same color as most light brown sugars.

Thought for the day:

Knowing that you were ransomed
from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers,
not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1: 18&19

What we're listening to for inspiration:

My Worth is Not in What I Own

 

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