Tips, variations, and storage
Using high-quality cocoa powder will deepen the chocolate flavor, a tip repeated in premium chocolate cake recipes where the cocoa choice significantly affects taste. Allowing the caramel to cool slightly before spreading over frosting helps prevent the frosting from melting or sliding, a detail often called out in recipes that layer caramel between buttercream or ganache. For extra indulgence, adding chocolate chips, caramel bits, or even a sprinkle of flaky sea salt between the layers echoes variations seen in fudge-style chocolate–caramel cakes.
Chilling the assembled cake for about 30 minutes before slicing helps the layers set and gives cleaner cuts, following advice from drip-cake and caramel chocolate layer cake instructions. Once assembled, this type of cake is usually best stored covered in a cool place or refrigerated; many chocolate–caramel cakes keep well for several days, with some bakers noting that the flavor improves as the caramel soaks slightly into the layers.