I’ve made this cake twice now and have never had an issue with it being dense or like pudding! In fact even my husband commented on how light and moist it was.
I’ve messed up making my own caramel in the past and it gets bitter when overcooked, I just buy the tub of Mazaretti caramel dip to make the frosting instead!

Yes I have a post with a tutorial on how to make it. The link is here: https://www.thebakerchick.com/salted-caramel-sauce-how-to/

Do you make your own caramel sauce?

Hi! The original frosting recipe was just the caramel and the cream cheese, but some people wanted to add more sweetness. If you taste the frosting and want more sugar you can add sifted powdered sugar in after all the cream cheese has been added!

Hi,

I don’t see when to add the icing sugar. Before or after the cream cheese? Thanks!

I like 3 layers for this cake, either cake pan size works, but if you use 9 inch the cake will be a little thinner.

I’d use all the same size pans. You could do a 9 inch but it will be bigger than the others and trimming it down will make the edges uneven.