Salted Vanilla Caramel Icing
From King Arthur Flour. * Love chocolate and caramel and salt? Combine swirls of whipped chocolate ganache with swirls of salted vanilla caramel icing and swoon away!
- 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup caramel, chopped
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 cup meringue powder (optional, for stability)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
Preparation
Step 1
1) Melt the chopped caramel(s) with the heavy cream in a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool to lukewarm.
2) Place the butter, confectioner’s sugar, meringue powder (if using), vanilla extract, and sea salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat on low speed for about 1 minute, just to combine. The mixture will be quite lumpy.
3) Add the cooled caramel to the butter/sugar in the bowl. Beat on low speed for 1 minute to incorporate the caramel in the mix.
4) Increase the speed to high and beat the icing for 5 minutes. You’ll see bits of caramel throughout the icing at first; these will melt into the icing over the long mixing time. The meringue powder will increase the fluffiness of the icing as well.
5) Spread the icing on cupcakes, cakes, brownies, even cookies. Add an extra sprinkle of sea salt on top if desired, or drizzle with additional caramel. Store leftover icing in the fridge for up to 1 week.