This page brings together five caramel-forward desserts with baked casseroles, layered cakes, and a classic candy-style treat. Each one uses caramel in a different way, from sauce and drizzle to melted coating.
The recipes below focus on methods that build texture as well as sweetness, including chilling, swirling, soaking, and rolling. Together they offer a varied set of desserts for serving and sharing.
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- Pecan Pie Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Caramel Sauce
- Caramel Brownie Cheesecake
- Chocolate Dream Cake
- Pumpkin Dump Cake
- Old-Fashioned Pecan Logs
Pecan Pie Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Caramel Sauce
Pecan Pie Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Caramel Sauce turns cubed hearty bread into a rich baked dessert with the flavor profile of pecan pie. The custard is built from beaten eggs, light corn syrup, heavy cream, melted butter, sugar, apple juice, vanilla, and optional alcohol-free rum-flavored extract, then bread and half the pecans are folded in so every piece is coated.
After the mixture stands, it is covered and refrigerated for 6 to 8 hours or overnight before baking in a buttered 9×13-inch dish. The sauce is made separately by simmering butter, sugar, and water, then stirring in vanilla and optional rum-flavored extract; half is poured over the pudding right after baking, and the rest is served at the table.
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Caramel Brownie Cheesecake
Caramel Brownie Cheesecake starts with a brownie base baked in a 9-inch springform pan, then topped with a creamy cheesecake layer. The filling is made by beating softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla, then adding eggs one at a time before blending in sour cream and heavy cream for a smooth texture.
Caramel sauce is drizzled over the cheesecake layer and swirled gently with a knife or toothpick to create a marbled effect without blending it away. The dessert bakes until the edges are set and the center still jiggles slightly, then cools in the oven with the door open before chilling in the fridge and finishing with extra caramel, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings.
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Chocolate Dream Cake
Chocolate Dream Cake begins with a Devil’s Food cake mix baked in a 9×13-inch pan, then transformed while still warm with caramel, condensed milk, and candy pieces. Holes are poked across the surface with the handle of a wooden spoon so the warm caramel topping can sink into the cake, followed by room-temperature sweetened condensed milk and chopped Heath bars.
Once the cake is fully chilled, the topping is finished with whipped cream frosting made by beating cold heavy whipping cream and sugar to stiff peaks and folding in finely crushed Heath candy bar. The frosting is spread over the cake, then the reserved Heath pieces and a little more caramel topping are added before the dessert goes back to the refrigerator.
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Pumpkin Dump Cake
Pumpkin Dump Cake layers a smooth pumpkin mixture under dry spice cake mix, chopped pecans, and melted butter for an easy baked dessert. The pumpkin base is stirred together from pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice, then poured into a prepared 9-by-13-inch pan and spread into the corners.
The dry cake mix is sprinkled over the pumpkin layer without stirring, and pecans are scattered over the top before melted butter is poured across as evenly as possible. The cake bakes until the center may still have a slight jiggle, then is cooled and refrigerated for neat slices, with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream offered as serving options.
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Old-Fashioned Pecan Logs
Old-Fashioned Pecan Logs are a candy-style dessert built from a stiff nougat center, a caramel coating, and a final roll in chopped pecans. The nougat mixture comes together by cooking butter, corn syrup, and granulated sugar until they just begin to simmer, then stirring in powdered sugar, powdered milk, vanilla, and a little milk until a firm dough forms.
The dough is pressed into a prepared dish, cooled, cut into eight pieces, and shaped into long logs before being frozen for at least an hour. Each frozen log is dipped into melted caramel made from caramel candies and milk, then rolled in chopped pecans and set aside until the coating is firm enough to slice or serve.
