The ultimate combo of chocolate and caramel come together in this delicious Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake.
This post has been sponsored by Fat Daddio’s. Thank you for supporting the brands I love – they help make Liv for Cake possible! All opinions expressed here are my own.
First off, sorry for the lack of a post last week. I have no excuse other than I’m having a hard time getting back into the swing of things after being away for 3 weeks, and the weather here has been cloudy and rainy so I haven’t been able to take pictures. I guess that’s kind of an excuse? Never mind the fact that we literally came back to SNOW. From a sunny Sydney summer, to snow. In Vancouver. In MARCH.
It literally almost never snows here, but this winter has been crazy. It’s officially spring now, and my winter coat should be put away and I should be staring out at a garden full of flowers. Unfortunately, neither of those is a reality, so it’s a good thing I have copious amounts of this Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake in my fridge right now.
I’m so excited to bring you this post today because it’s in collaboration with one of my favorite brands in the baking world — Fat Daddio’s.
Fat Daddio’s is renowned for manufacturing high quality, professional bakeware. They have a seemingly endless variety of cake pans and baking tools. Literally anything you could ever need or want. This family owned company has been around for decades and they are the go-to brand for professional pastry chefs and bakeries.
I’ve been using Fat Daddio’s products for as long as I can remember and they are my favorite brand when it comes to bakeware. I specifically love their cake pans over any others I’ve tried, as they are sturdier and bake more evenly. Just look at those perfect, even layers!
Cleanup is a breeze too! The most used Fat Daddio’s products in my kitchen are the 6″ cake pans (shown below) and the cake lifter (which makes transferring cakes from the turntable to a cake stand a much less stressful endeavor).
Fat Daddio’s doesn’t sell directly to consumers, but you can easily find their products online on Amazon or Golda’s Kitchen. If you happen to live in Vancouver, my favorite place to get them is at the Gourmet Warehouse.
This Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake is a new fave. I used my standard chocolate cake recipe (why mess with a good thing, right?) and paired it with a silky Dulce de Leche brown sugar buttercream. I used dark brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar in the buttercream, because I wanted to enhance both the color and flavor.
I wanted a rich caramel color to the buttercream, and I knew that 1/4 cup of Dulce de Leche wouldn’t be enough to do that. The brown sugar also adds to the caramel flavor. It’s truly delicious.
Now, I went the easy route and used store-bought Dulce de Leche sauce. Partly because I had some in my fridge from this Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart, and partly because I’m lazy. It’s actually really easy to make Dulce de Leche at home. All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk, a pot, some water, and time. I went with the leftover stuff I had, but you can make your own if you prefer!
The rich chocolate cake and silky caramel buttercream go so well together. Who doesn’t love a good chocolate and caramel combo, right?? I amped up the flavor even more by drizzling Dulce de Leche over each slice. Pure heaven right there!
Looking for more Caramel recipes?
- Caramel Gingerbread Cake
- Caramel Cake (Salted Caramel Cake)
- Caramel Apple Cake
- Maple Caramel Carrot Cake
- Caramel Cookie Cups
Notes & tips for this Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake:
- You can make your own Dulce de Leche at home rather than using store-bought if you prefer.
- To enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake, you can use strong hot coffee instead of hot water.
- For the ganache, I let mine set overnight (with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface). It will be too thick at this point, so I microwave it for 10 secs and stir it until it’s the right consistency.
- The drip technique works best on a chilled cake so that the drips set quickly.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate 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 extract
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
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour water in slowly as not to cook the eggs if very hot).
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. A total of 30-35mins.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Dulce de Leche Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and dark brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a pot with 1-2" of simmering water and stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
- 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)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
- Add dulce de leche and whip until smooth.
Ganache:
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.***
- Top with decorative dollops of frosting (I used Ateco tip 825). Drizzle slices with dulce de leche if desired.
Notes
** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
*** You may have some ganache left over.
Zelma says
Hi Olivia.
I baked my cakes. They turned out beautifully moist and glossy on top. However they rose a bit uneven. I used baking strips. Although these were new. I wonder do you have any advice about where I may have gone wrong? I baked carrot cake yesterday in the same pans with the strips and got totally level results. I did leave the strips to soak for a while first though. Could this be a factor.
Either way I’m planning to bake more chocolate cakes and am hoping to get a level bake. But it’s no bad thing having extra lovely chocolate cake available while perfecting my technique.
Zelma
Olivia says
Hi Zelma! What do you mean by they rose unevenly? I usually soak my strips for a good 10mins (I do it while I’m making the cake batter) and then squeeze out the excess moisture.
Zelma says
Yes the cake layers. Thank you. I shall make them this weekend.
Olivia says
Good luck! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Zelma Indans says
Hi Olivia
I’m planning on baking this for a Macmillan cancer charity coffee morning here in the UK . It will be auctioned off to raise extra cash. I’m so excited about baking it. I don’t have much time near the event (14th Oct). I wonder could I bake the cakes in advance and freeze them. Would it freeze well do you think?
Olivia says
Hi Zelma! Do you mean the cake layers themselves? Totally you can freeze them, I do that ALL the time. Just cool them and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap (twice) and freeze.
Michelle says
Hi, Do you advise to stick with the all purpose flour recommended in the recipe? Have you tried cake flour or pastry flour with the recipe? Wondering if you used all purpose to avoid the cake from being unstable. Also, I have seen some recipes doing swiss meringue buttercream by not making a meringue. Would that work in this recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! I have only used all purpose for this recipe and advise sticking with it. The batter is quite thin and rises a lot, so I wouldn’t try it with a different flour. And I’m not sure what you mean about making a swiss meringue without making a meringue, can you clarify?
Hakima says
I am planning to make this recipe this week and will double to make it into 3 8inch pans. I was wondering how tall this cake is. I have wilton cake boxes. The dimensions are 12X12X6. If it’s taller than 6, I’ll need to find an alternative for packing the cake.
Also, for the buttercream, would you suggest to double the recipe and make it while doubled, or make 2 batches?
Olivia says
Hi Hakima! It is definitely taller than 6″, especially with the rosettes. What about making a two layer 8″ cake? You could leave the recipe amounts as is for that and it would work! Doubling the buttercream will work fine IF your mixer is large enough to handle it 😉 It might be safer to split it into two though if you end up doubling the recipe.
Hakima says
I made the cakes yesterday. Doubled the recipe and used 8 inch pans. These cakes came out PERFECT, flat tops, beautiful. This might be my new go-to chocolate cake. I was a bit worried when doubling the recipe because it all seemed like SO MUCH. But I didn’t realize the cakes were legit about 2 inches thick. Most cakes I make are flatter than that. I can’t wait to make the buttercream and decorate tonight.
My husband gave me a tip for the box. So the wilton box I have, the bottom assembles and then the top is basically a lid and it’s detached from the bottom. He said I could prop the lid up by using wooden skewers that we have (tape them to the edges of the box) and then place the lid on top. So I’ll try that and for future, maybe try finding taller boxes that aren’t going to cost an arm and a leg.
Hakima says
Oh, and I have a professional 500 (600?) bowl lift kitchenaid, so I think it has enough power for the doubled buttercream recipe? I guess we’ll find out tonight! 😀
Lilly says
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I saw your comment and I was going to ask the same thing. I needed to double the recipe for the buttercream. Did it work for you? I have the artisan tilt head. I would like to know before I start the recipe. I do not want to waste ingredients.
Samantha says
Hey Olivia! First off, this cake is to DIE FOR! I had accidently picked up a bottle of Dulce de Leche and a quick Google search for recipes brought me to your page. Can’t be more grateful to have been introduced to your page!
I made this cake for my Dads 55th birthday. But, I felt that the cake got super fluffy. And no matter how much I levelled them, it just kept falling in. I don’t know if it is because I used an 8″ pan and 4 layers.
I did give it enough time to cool down as well. Any suggestions to avoid this?
Olivia says
Hi Samantha! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this one! I’m not sure what you mean by then kept falling in… you mean after they were baked but before you stacked them? Did you use both baking soda and baking powder as per the recipe. The cake does rise a lot when baked, but it should be quite sturdy, a bit on the dense side.
Samantha says
No, as in after I baked them and I tried stacking them, the cakes couldn’t hold the weight of the layers above. So I had an unevenly layered cake.
Anyhow, I’m taking your example and ordered a Fat Daddio pan and I’m super excited for it to arrive!!
Olivia says
Huh, that is super bizarre! That really shouldn’t happen since these layers are more on the dense side. Were they dry or anything? And yay to the pans!! You will LOVE them 🙂
V says
Do you think we could use cocoa instead of processed cocoa?
Olivia says
Yes, that should work fine. It will affect the flavour and texture slightly, but will be ok!
Monika says
Hi Liv! I was so excited to make this cake for my BFF for her birthday. But I did not realize how hard ditch processed cocoa powder would be to find! I don’t have enough time to order it online. Do you have any recommendations on how to substitute regular cocoa powder? Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Monika! You can use regular cocoa and the cake will turn out just fine. It might be a bit lighter in color and the flavour will be slightly different, but it will still be delicious! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Gaye says
Hi Liv! So, my dad’s 90th birthday was yesterday and we’re having a (small) party for him tomorrow. When asked what kind of cake he wanted, he said chocolate. Of course. And, of course, I immediately came back to your site to choose my 2nd cake ever to make! I chose this one because although I don’t like chocolate(!!), I do love caramel. Question: I couldn’t find Dulce de Leche at Whole Foods last night (shocking because I KNOW I’ve seen it before). I bought caramel instead. Is that ok?? Is there any difference in dulce de leche vs caramel? Thanks for all your amazing recipes and your help!
Olivia says
Hi again Gaye! Bummer about not being able to find the Dulce de Leche 🙁 There is a diff between the two (caramel is made with sugar, cream, and butter; dulce de leche with sweetened condensed milk), but honestly, it’s not drastic. Caramel will totally work just fine and still be just as delicious. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
ingrid says
Hi! This is absolutely dreamy!!! Would love to bake this for a birthday this weekend, but the birthday girl doesn’t do chocolate (crazy, I know!) if I exclude the cocoa, do I need to make any additional adjustments to the recipe? I am planning on cutting open some vanilla beans and scraping some of the good into the batter, hoping I turn it into a vanilla cake or something. She lovesss dulce de leche, this would be perfect.
Olivia says
Hi Ingrid! I would not modify this recipe to a non-chocolate one. I would use this one for the cake layers: https://livforcake.com/vanilla-cake/ It will work for three 6″ pans like the chocolate cake one. I hope that helps!
Judy says
Hi. The cake looks lovely! I was wondering if I could reduce the baking soda and increase the baking powder instead? As I do not like the strong taste and smell of the baking soda.
Olivia says
Hi Judy! I would recommend sticking it the recipe as is for best results. However, you can give it a try, but make sure to substitute the appropriate amount of baking powder (not 1 for 1).
Patricia says
When you mention about the stand mixer using paddle attachment – I only have a hand mixer with whisk attachments – should I use this, or mix by hand with a spatula?
I’m going to be making this cake for my partners 21st – I want it to be as perfect as my limited baking skills can get it 😂
Olivia says
Hi Patricia! I would use the hand mixer vs doing it by hand. It should be fine! For the buttercream though, you’ll be holding that hand mixer for quite a while (around 10mins) until the frosting is cool enough to add the butter. Just FYI! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Nancy says
I made the frosting yesterday to frost a butterscotch cake and this is the first time making a Swiss meringue buttercream for me. I loved the way it spread on the cake, but it seemed very buttery tasting, almost too fatty if that makes sense. Is that the texture/taste of this buttercream? I may just be too used to American buttercream frosting. The caramel flavor was there too, it might have just been a textural thing for me.
Olivia says
Hi Nancy! I would say that a Swiss meringue is more buttery than an American buttercream, but it shouldn’t taste greasy :\ I wonder if the meringue deflated too much while you were adding the butter… did you add it slowly and was it room temperature? Also, this frosting is very customizable — you can add less butter if you prefer!
Nancy says
I wasn’t very confident about how long to heat the egg whites and sugar, maybe it wasn’t hot enough and I think they were stiff peaks… Lol! Yes, the butter was room temperature, i may have been a little impatient and added it too quickly. I loved the way it frosted the cake and will definitely try it again!
Olivia says
I’m glad you’re willing to give it another go!! Adding the butter too quick may have done it. Re: heating the egg whites — if you have a candy thermometer, you can check to see if they are at 160F, then they’ll be ready, otherwise as long as the sugar has dissolved completely and you can’t feel any grains. Then just whip the meringue until it’s completely cool before you add the butter. Let me know how your next attempt goes!
Christina says
I’ve used your recipe three times since I found it a few months ago, and it’s amazing every time! I never want to use another chocolate cake recipe…my question is whether it can be made in a bundt pan with as much success, and if I would need to adjust the baking times? Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Christina! So happy to head you liked this one 🙂 I’ve never made it in a Bundt pan before… usually ones I make in Bundt pans have much thicker batter. But I imagine it *should* work. You’d need to adjust the baking time for sure, depending on the size of the pan. It can be anywhere from 45mins to over an hour. I hope that helps! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Debra Sullivan says
Made this yesterday and it was amazing!!!!
I can’t thank you enough for the dish towel around the edges trick to keep the cake from crowning. Worked like a charm! I have never had a cake come out of a pan and be so even…next thing on the agenda….buy the Velcro strips so I’m not saving my yucky, cut up kitchen towels to wrap around my pans. My cakes didn’t rise quite as nicely as yours…not quite sure why….I too use Fat Daddio’s for everything…they are really the best.
This is a new go-to for my fun, glamour cake for entertaining repertoire. I can’t believe how quickly it came together. I know you quote two and a half hours but of course the pessimist in me said, “sure it does…”. But, it really did. Came together beautifully.. Tasted fabulous. The frosting had a few scary moments when I thought for sure I wrecked it and I must have been a bit heavy in my use of it between layers because I had to make a second batch to get the swirls on the top but all in all this recipe was really quite outstanding. Found it on Pinterest. Thank you so much for your sharing!
Olivia says
Hi Debra! Wow, thank you so much for your detailed comment and feedback! I am so glad you liked this recipe as it is one of my favourites 🙂 Strange that your layers didn’t rise as much — is your baking soda/powder expired by chance? That’s the only thing I can think of…
The velcro bake even strips are the BEST. I love them and use them on every cake. Well worth the small investment 🙂
netta says
Hi olivia,
I am going to double the recipe to make it in an 8″ pan, but still had another question.. do i double the frosting and ganache as well? Also how far can you make this in advance/would you recommend freezing it?
thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Netta! Yes, I would double the frosting and ganache. You may have some left over, but its always better than not enough!
You can make the cake the day before and keep it in the fridge, but serve at room temperature. Or, you can do like I do and split up the baking. You can freeze the cake layers (wrapped well in plastic wrap) for up to 3 months. The buttercream can be made in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and re-whip before using.
I’ve never frozen the cake whole, only the cut slices. Those freeze totally fine. I hope that helps!
Netta says
Hi! I’m going to try freezing the cake layers so that’s done ahead of time 🙂
Thanks tons!
megha says
Hi! can we make buttercream in advance, like a day before? what better? make on same day or in advance?
thanks:)
Olivia says
You can make it in advance if you like, but I would refrigerate it overnight and bring it to room temperature before using. You may need to re-whip the frosting once you bring it to room temp. I prefer to make the buttercream on the same day.
Branka Aleksic Ankerl says
Hi! I’m making the cake right now but my buttercream is completely curdled. What can I do? Thank you
Olivia says
Hi Branka! Keep whipping the buttercream — it will come together! (see recipe notes).
DeeDee says
This cake was absolutely awesome. I made it exactly the way you had written. I would, however, need to figure out why the icing was a little grainy when I put it on the cake. It seemed perfect when I made it. Maybe keeping it chilled while the cake cooled wasn’t a good idea. Or maybe when cooking the brown sugar mixture, it wasn’t as melted as I thought! Nevertheless it was a huge hit! My new favorite! Thankful my son allowed a new cake for his birthday!
Olivia says
Hi DeeDee! I am so happy that you liked it! This cake is a new fave of mine 🙂 Regarding the grainy frosting — I’ve had that happen once before with another cake, and it’s totally due to not dissolving it completely during the cooking process. I was over eager one time and paid the price for it with grainy frosting. Good thing it still tastes delicious 😉
Christy says
Is there a way to make the buttercream without eggs? I plan on making this for a baby shower and it kind of freaks me out having raw eggs in an icing. Does heating it on the stove cook it enough to make it safe for pregnant ladies? I’m new to baking with homemade icings…
Olivia says
Hi Christy, for this particular buttercream, you need to use egg whites. Heating it on the stove does cook it to a safe level. If you want to be 100% sure, you can use a candy thermometer and cook the egg whites until the temperature reaches 160F — that’s the temperature at which salmonella (and other kinds of bacteria) are killed.
Christy says
Thank you! I am excited to make it!