I was online tonight, searching for a fantastic cupcake recipe to add to my show list, when I cam across this beauty! Feast your eyes on this “Chocolate Dulce de Leche” cake. I don’t know about you, but this cake is speaking to me. It’s saying something like, “Just eat me and worry about the calories later!” Ha! Thank goodness I just got home from the gym, with the taste of weight loss success in my mouth. However, it doesn’t hurt to look and not touch, right;)
I will be making an attempt to recreate this cake recipe into a cupcake one, in order to achieve “safe” bite-sized pleasures that won’t totally sabotage your gym flow. For now, I’ll share the cake recipe, but do the cupcake version on Sunday at Home.
Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
Dulce de Leche Buttercream:
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Dulce de Leche storebought or homemade
Ganache:
- 2 oz dark chocolate finely chopped
- 2 oz heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cake:
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Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
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Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
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In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour water in slowly as not to cook the eggs if very hot).
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Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
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Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
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Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. A total of 30-35mins.
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Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Dulce de Leche Buttercream:
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Place egg whites and dark brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
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Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
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Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
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Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
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Add dulce de leche and whip until smooth.
Ganache:
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Place chopped chocolate and cream into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until ganache is smooth and silky. Set aside to cool completely and thicken slightly before using on cake.
Assembly:
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Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving dish. Top with about 2/3 cup buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost and smooth the outside with a thin crumb coat. Chill for 20mins.
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Using a small spoon, place dollops of ganache around the top edges of the cooled cake, allowing some to drip down. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread evenly with an offset spatula.***
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Top with decorative dollops of frosting (I used Ateco tip 825). Drizzle slices with dulce de leche if desired.
Notes
*Recipe taken from livforcake.com
My advice to you is to make this cake only when you know you will have company over to eat it. That way, you won’t have to fight the cake starring at you on the kitchen counter every time you walk by! If you have to do it, you will need a lot of self-discipline to face off with a cake as gorgeous as that. I wish you luck! I hope you had a wonderful day. Remember to kick up your feet and drink a cup of tea. Breathe easy now because the weekend is fast approaching. Happy Thursday everyone!
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