*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*

A three-layer caramel sponge millionaires cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, gooey caramel, and mini shortbread bites! 

Millionaires bakes 

So I adore anything millionaires themed… how can I not?! Biscuit, caramel and chocolate are basically THE BEST COMBINATION in the world. Ever. Honestly, I love it! My millionaire’s cupcakes post has been so popular since I posted it, and I can see why.

I adore the secret caramel centre, with the naturally caramelly sponge using light brown soft sugar with chocolate buttercream on top. The photos look so good on that post because they show the caramel oozing out so it never surprises me that they’re a hit!

My salted caramel millionaires shortbread has always been a massive hit as well because its a salty twist on the classic. I adore it! I love the salted caramel, which you can easily add to this recipe as well. You could simply add a tsp of salt to the tin of caramel, and it would be delicious!

The cake 

With this recipe, I did base it quite heavily on my millionaire’s cupcakes as I adore it so much. I used the light brown sugar recipe again as I just adore the flavour of the sponges, and it keeps it so moist and lovely. Unsalted butter, light brown soft sugar, eggs, self-raising flour and an optional bit of baking powder are the dream. 

  • Butter – For the sponges, you can use baking spread, margarine, or even room temperature block butter
  • Sugar – I use light brown soft sugar for the flavour, but dark brown soft sugar works well also. 
  • Eggs – I use medium eggs. It’s best to weigh them in their shells so you match 400g of dry ingredients, it can be 6-8 eggs. 
  • Flour – Self raising flour as always, guys!
  • Raising agents – I add a tiny bit of baking powder for this for a fluffier sponge, but this is optional. 

Buttercream

For the frosting, I then went with an easy chocolate buttercream using unsalted block butter (never use a spread for buttercream!), icing sugar and cocoa powder, but you can easily swap to using actual chocolate if you wanted instead. 

I tend to use cocoa powder because I simply use whatever I find easier sometimes (and whatever I have in the cupboard!) – whereas with melted chocolate it is another bowl to clean and something to remember to do – but if you do want this, I would recommend 200g dark chocolate, melted and cooled. 

If you are baking the cake in the middle of winter or cold weather you may need to add 1-3tbsp of boiling water to your buttercream to smooth it out slightly. This is a common thing and something I do often – however, if it is the middle of summer, the chances of needing to do this are slim as the ambient temperature of your kitchen will naturally soften the buttercream. 

 

Decoration

I decided to pipe the buttercream onto my cake using my all-time favourite 2d closed star piping tip, because I am in love with it. You can of course pipe the buttercream on however you like, or even just slather it on if you fancy – there is no shame in that. 

For the caramel I used a shop-bought caramel for ease, and don’t hate anyone for wanting to do that. Shop bought ingredients are there for a reason, and there is no issue in using them. If you want to make your own caramel sauce, you can try my homemade caramel sauce recipe! 

I love layering the naturally caramel flavoured sponges with buttercream and then plenty of caramel sauce – it drizzles out the sides of the sponges, looks AMAZING when you cut into the slices and is generally utterly irresistible. 

Yes, I did use shop bought mini-shortbread bites for the top – you can just use shortbread if you like, or even make some mini homemade shortbread bites with one of my many millionaires recipes but that is entirely up to you!! Enjoy! 

Two layer version

This recipe is a three-layer cake so I bake the sponges into three 8″/20cm round tins for best results – I get that it is quite an intensely tall cake if there aren’t many of you, but trust me it is worth doing. If you want to make a two-layer cake, however, I would use 250g butter, sugar and self-raising flour, 5 medium eggs and 1/2 tsp baking powder split between two tins, baked for 30 minutes. 

You would then want to have 2/3 of the decoration ingredients as well, but the method is the same as this recipe. 

Tips & Tricks

I went for a big three layer cake as I just love the look of them, and it certainly makes them a showstopper. But honestly, this is one of my favourite bakes in a long time and I hope you all love it too! Enjoy x

Millionaires Cake!

A three-layer caramel sponge millionaires cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, gooey caramel, and mini shortbread bites! 
Print Pin Rate
Category: Dessert
Type: Cake
Keyword: Caramel
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Decorating Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 15 People
Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 400 g unsalted butter
  • 400 g light brown sugar
  • 8 medium eggs
  • 400 g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder (optional)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

  • 350 g unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 650 g icing sugar
  • 75 g cocoa powder
  • 1-2 tbsp boiling water

Decoration

  • 350 g caramel (Carnations)
  • Shortbread bites
  • Sprinkles
  • Crushed shortbread

Instructions

For the Cake!

  • Heat the oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan and line three 20cm/8inch sandwich cake tins with baking parchment – leave to the side.
  • In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and light brown sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
  • Add the flour, eggs and baking powder and beat again
  • Divide the mixture between the three tins and smooth it over – bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are golden and when the cake springs bac
  • Once baked, leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 10 minutes or so, and then remove and leave to cool fully on a wire rack.

For the Decoration!

  • Beat the butter with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes to loosen it.
  • Gradually add the icing sugar on a slow speed until it is combined then speed the mixer up and mix for 3-4 minutes until thoroughly combined and smooth.
  • Add the cocoa powder to the buttercream and continue mixing. If its really stiff, add in 1tbsp of boiling water at a time until you reach the desired texture.
  • Keep on beating for 5 minutes until whipped and silky smooth
  • On the first layer of the cake, pipe your buttercream using a 2d closed star piping tip, and then drizzle/spread some of the caramel on top. Repeat again with the next layer.
  • For the top layer, pipe on the rest of the buttercream, and add some little swirls. Drizzle over some more caramel. On top of each swirl, add a mini millionaires shortbread bite, or a piece of shortbread. 
  • Sprinkle on some crushed shortbread, some sprinkles, and ENJOY!

Notes

 

ENJOY!

Find my other Cake, Chocolate & Caramel Recipes on my Recipes Page!

You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube

J x

© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.

82 Comments

  1. Cerys on November 10, 2023 at 9:28 am

    Hi, I want to make this cake for my birthday but would like to use white chocolate buttercream, would you be able to suggest quantities for this? Thanks

  2. Sarah on May 15, 2023 at 8:27 pm

    Hi Jane. Do you think this would taste nice with covering the cake in vanilla buttercream? I want to make this cake but cover it in a blue buttercream hence why I would do vanilla. Also how much would I make to cover the outside?x

  3. shamara on September 23, 2022 at 9:52 am

    5 stars
    Hi Jane, I recently followed this recipe to make my boyfriends birthday cake and it turned out amazing! thank you so much x

  4. Tazzy on August 17, 2022 at 9:22 am

    Thank you made this for my boyfriend’s birthday, not as picturesque as yours but tasty! I think next time I would add extra caramel and use a white chocolate frosting instead. Yummy!

  5. Ellie on June 14, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    Hi Jane, I only have 1 tin, is there any chance I can make the mixture and then bake 1 layer at a time?

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 15, 2022 at 9:52 am

      Hi! It is best not to leave mix sat whilst the other bakes for the best results! Hope this helps! x



  6. Lesley on April 27, 2022 at 6:32 am

    Hi on the ingredients it says 8 eggs but on the instructions it says add 4 could you tell me how many please

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 29, 2022 at 10:19 am

      Hiya! I think you may have mis-understood the recipe, it states ‘flour’, not ‘four’! Hope this helps! x



  7. Louise on March 12, 2022 at 4:08 pm

    5 stars
    Hey Jane. Love all of the amazing recipes that you have but I wish to make a salted caramel and white chocolate celebration cake for my mums birthday. Don’t suppose you have a recipe coming for this? Thank you for encouraging my sweet tooth!

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 13, 2022 at 12:50 pm

      I can definitely add it to my list!! x



  8. Stacey on January 3, 2022 at 4:43 pm

    Hi Jane I’m looking for a bit of help

    I’m going to be making your
    Millionaires cake next week for my partner’s birthday however he prefers more caramel than chocolate so looking to swap chocolate buttercream to caramel buttercream but I can’t find the recipe for that

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 4, 2022 at 3:39 pm

      Hiya! Take a look at my Rolo Cupcakes recipe – they use a caramel buttercream! Enjoy! x



  9. amanda yeates on May 23, 2021 at 10:40 pm

    Hi, I want to make this cake for my son’s birthday but will need to transport it to the venue – any idea how tall my cake carrier needs to be please as I want to but it in advance. Thanks

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 24, 2021 at 1:03 pm

      Hello, I usually buy 6-7 inch tall boxes xx



    • Julie Morgan on January 2, 2022 at 2:58 pm

      Not made this yet I’m sure it’s going to be 5 stars
      when I do
      I don’t like coco powder in anything
      Is there anything I can use instead
      Thank you x



    • Jane's Patisserie on January 4, 2022 at 3:43 pm

      Hiya! For the chocolate buttercream, take a look at my Cadburys Cupcake recipe – it uses melted chocolate in the buttercream rather than cocoa powder! Hope this helps! x



  10. Nimisha on May 11, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    Hi Jane, I’ve made so many of your recipes and have loved them all. With this one, would this amount of buttercream be enough to cover the whole cake? I would love to do that and add the dark chocolate drip effect from your Oreo drip cake recipe and then decorate on top of that with the caramel slices or even some of the leftover buttercream and add the caramel slices on top like the Oreos on the other recipe. Then drizzle with more caramel. But don’t want to be short on buttercream! Any tips?? X

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 15, 2021 at 11:49 am

      Hey! Ahh yay thank you! No it would not I would double it to do that.xx



  11. Sian on March 30, 2021 at 7:51 pm

    Hi Jane, I wondered how you pipped the icing in between each layer ? Was it like you would do a cupcake or did you just hold the bag upright and let the nozzle do the work? Also does the butter cream need to firm up in between each layer or can you do it all at once?

    Thank you so much for your help!

  12. Sian on March 28, 2021 at 9:58 am

    5 stars
    Hi Jane- how did you pipe the layers? Was it in circles like you’d pipe cupcakes or do you just push on the bag and lift up and let the tip do the work? Or another way? Thanks so much!

  13. Carolann on March 23, 2021 at 6:22 pm

    Hi Jane! I am wanting to make this recipe at the weekend for my anniversary, the only issue is that I only have one deep 8″ cake tin. Can I pour the whole recipe into this and just allow it to bake for longer then cut it into 3 layers?

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 26, 2021 at 1:52 pm

      Hello! You can but I have no idea what the timings would be for this I am afraid x



    • Toni on June 5, 2022 at 10:38 pm

      Hi
      Cook it for an hour,vthen it should be okay and at the temperature stated



  14. Stephanie Dean on February 21, 2021 at 10:22 am

    5 stars
    Hi I ordered some light brown sugar for this cake, but its been substituted for dark brown sugar. Is this OK to use? It was quite nice in the butterscotch cupcakes but not used in a big cake before. I will be doing the smaller 2 tin version. Thank you x

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 21, 2021 at 1:41 pm

      Yes its totally fine to use! Just a slightly deep flavour! X



    • Stephanie Dean on February 21, 2021 at 2:30 pm

      Thank you! X



  15. Cristal on February 10, 2021 at 9:29 pm

    Hi Jane,

    I’m just wondering what the measurement would be for a 4inch cake ? I want to make a smaller one for Valentine’s Day.

    Thank you,
    Cristal

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 11, 2021 at 8:31 am

      I’ve not bake a 4″ cake before as it really is so tiny, but it would be about 1/3 of the recipe so the timings will be less x



  16. Hannah on January 17, 2021 at 8:43 am

    5 stars
    Hi Jane,

    Could this recipe be covered in a fondant icing for a birthday cake?

    Thanks!

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 17, 2021 at 11:42 am

      Yes it could – but I would recommend a decent crumb coat to seal all the crumbs in first!



  17. Gemma Smart on January 8, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    Hi
    I don’t have a stand mixer! Would it make a big difference if I used an electric whisk when making the cake mix?
    Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 9, 2021 at 3:52 pm

      No that would be fine, just try not to over mix it way too much x



  18. Hannah on December 21, 2020 at 10:50 am

    5 stars
    I made this cake last week for a birthday and it came out incredibly well! The sponge was perfect and the buttercream was delicious. I only used half the caramel but if I made it again I’d put more caramel between each layer! I ordered the icing nozzle that was recommended in the post and it was so easy to use! Even for a first timer like me! Perfect!

  19. Hayley M on November 15, 2020 at 11:33 am

    Hi, if i was to use 3 x 6 inch tins would the recipe be the same as the smaller recipe using 2 x 8 inch tins?

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 15, 2020 at 11:36 am

      So for a 6″ version I usually say to use about 2/3 of a recipe – so you can use the smaller version if you want but I’m not 100% sure on timings!! x



  20. Lauren on September 9, 2020 at 9:10 am

    Hi, my son has picked this recipe for me to try for his birthday cake this year! I can’t wait to taste it myself as it looks amazing! However, on the day I need it I will be short of time, so am planning to bake the cake the day before and then decorate on the day. Would the butter cream be ok to pipe the next day if I made it the day before too? Just trying to save as much time as possible. Thank you x

    • Jane's Patisserie on September 9, 2020 at 9:43 am

      You would need to re-mix the buttercream to freshen it up to be able to pipe it again – You could definitely do the sponges the day before, but personally (unless you don’t mind the re-mixing) would make the buttercream on the day! X



  21. skye gordon on September 3, 2020 at 9:39 am

    Looks amazing !! Thinking of making this. When you say ‘light brown sugar’ do you mean caster sugar?

    • Jane's Patisserie on September 3, 2020 at 2:09 pm

      No, light brown sugar is a soft brown sugar. It’s not caster, muscavado or Demerara – it’s just light brown sugar x



  22. aliyah on August 30, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    Do we pipe all over the cake with the buttercream.

  23. Jo on August 17, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Jane,
    Another fantastic creation! Can I ask why the addition of baking powder to this cake recipe? Normally you make your sponge without.

    • Jane's Patisserie on August 18, 2020 at 9:23 am

      I have several recipes with baking powder, not just this one – and I find it just lightens the texture! You can leave it out if you want x



  24. Hermione on August 16, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    Did you melt the caramel and then drizzle it?

    • Jane's Patisserie on August 17, 2020 at 8:13 pm

      I don’t melt it, no. I just mix it a little in a bowl or the tin and then drizzle x



    • Dawn brown on October 9, 2020 at 7:36 pm

      Hi Jane.
      I made this cake for my son for his birthday. The sponges came out lovely, but the butter cream so was thick. I did everything precisely as per recipe, but it was that thick I couldn’t pipe it! In the end after a couple of attempts at re mixing it, I gave up and just had to smooth it onto the sponges, which spoilt the affect. Help….what did I do wrong?



    • Jane's Patisserie on October 10, 2020 at 8:21 am

      You just need to add a little boiling water or whole milk to thin a buttercream out if it’s too thick xx



  25. Chantelle on July 20, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    Hi jane,

    I’d like to make this cake in 6” tins for my mums anniversary. How would I adapt the recipe please!?

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 20, 2020 at 7:14 pm

      You use about 2/3 of the recipe, and follow the method, but baking time is shorter x



    • Steph on August 17, 2020 at 10:02 pm

      This looks insanely good !! In your notes where you talk about adapting the recipie to make a smaller version, how many tins was that in reference to w.g. was it for 2 x 8 inch tins ?



    • Jane's Patisserie on August 18, 2020 at 9:22 am

      Yes, two 8″ xx



  26. Liza on May 18, 2020 at 10:35 am

    I made this cake yesterday but two layered and it came out amazing. Made this for my family and they have said it tastes so amazing and the cake itself was really soft! Can’t wait to bake some more cakes from your page! Xx

  27. Holly on May 3, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    5 stars
    I made this epic millionaire cake for my birthday last year and it was fab! Easy recipe to follow, looked and tasted incredible. Thank you for sharing it, Holly x

  28. Sam on April 26, 2020 at 3:00 pm

    5 stars
    Hello! I’ve made this recipe before and loved it but wanted to make it again with chocolate sponge? How much flour would you need to swap out to coco powder/ would it work? Thanks

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 26, 2020 at 3:08 pm

      I would swap out 50g of flour for cocoa powder! x



  29. Niamh on January 21, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    What size tin for the smaller recipe, please?? Love your recipes 😊😊

  30. Tammy on January 21, 2020 at 11:37 am

    This looks amazing how much ingredients would I need to use 3 6” round cakes instead of 8” ? Thankyou in advance x

  31. Amber on August 15, 2019 at 5:45 pm

    5 stars
    I have just made this cake and Its amazing! So so easy but yet looks so spectacular! Thank you for sharing!

  32. Kelly on March 31, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    Made the 2 tier version of this cake for
    Mother’s Day and it’s amazing. Thanks for much for the recipe – have some very happy (and full) family 🙂

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 31, 2019 at 7:56 pm

      Awh yay! I’m so glad!



    • Charlotte on November 6, 2022 at 9:04 am

      Did you use 300g of ingredients and 6 eggs or 250g and 5 eggs ? Both of these are stated for the 2 tier version and I dont know which to use



    • Millie on January 7, 2023 at 11:01 am

      In reply to Charlotte, what did you go with in the end? Having same issue, do I use 250 or 300 as like you said both mentioned. Thanks in advance



    • Jane's Patisserie on January 10, 2023 at 2:44 pm

      Hiya! Use the 250g recipe for a two layer version. Hope this helps! x



  33. Hayley Brimicombe on January 18, 2019 at 4:34 pm

    I’m wanting to make this for a cousins birthday but she would like 2 layers instead of 3. How much would I need to change the amounts to, for this? Looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it!

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 19, 2019 at 9:18 am

      There’s notes on how to do this in the notes section of the recipe xx



    • Hayley on January 26, 2019 at 8:10 pm

      Thank you. Am in the middle of making it now and can’t wait for my cousin to see it and hope she’s like it xx



  34. Debbie Vandeventer on September 25, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    5 stars
    I live in the US and I am wondering what the difference is between the flour in the UK and our flour. I believe that our “self RISING flour” is different than your “self RAISING flour”. Would you happen to know what I need to use in place of, or in addition to, our regular all-purpose flour to achieve the right texture for this cake? I love your creations and I cannot wait to make this cake!!

    • Jane's Patisserie on September 25, 2018 at 7:42 pm

      I believe your all-purpose flour is the same as our plain-flour. For this cake, I would add in probably 3tsp more baking powder. x



  35. Yasmin on March 3, 2018 at 3:28 pm

    Wow I can’t wait to bake this cake for my sons birthday! Thank you for all your amaaazing recipes

  36. John Malcon on December 7, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Hello, Jane!
    Thank you for the perfect recipe! I sent to my wife a link on your blog!
    John
    Weedit.photos

  37. Lily on November 28, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    I have 372g of the brown sugar would it be ok to do the last 28g’s as dark brown sugar?

  38. Clare Smith on August 16, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    Just made this cake for my birthday. Substituted Gluten Free Flour for the unusual but rest of recipe remained the same.
    Its turned out wonderfully, im sure any visitors will enjoy the luxurious treat. Thanks for your recipes and ideas they are spot on

  39. Daniella Modern on July 30, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Looks divine. Do you weigh the eggs in their shells or not? Cheers

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 30, 2017 at 6:18 pm

      I personally weigh them out of the shells but it doesn’t reeeeally matter. ?



  40. Natalie on July 25, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    An this be made in a 8″ 3″ deep tin? X

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 25, 2017 at 9:38 pm

      Yes – the cakes won’t be that deep so they’d be fine.



    • Jane's Patisserie on July 25, 2017 at 9:39 pm

      Sorry I missread that ? did you mean one tin? It should be fine but I’d lower the baking temperature to 140C and bake for a long time.



    • Natalie on July 26, 2017 at 6:11 am

      Thank you yes I meant one tin.
      I was looking for a very chocolatey chocolate cake for a few weeks time this will be perfect x



  41. Jo on July 25, 2017 at 2:23 pm

    Oh.My.Goodness. This is STUNNING! Seriously, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m definitely bookmarking this to try out sometime, thanks 🙂

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating








This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.