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.
Li Ting says
Hi.. I tried your recipe… I made it into cupcakes… it’s moist and not too sweet… thanks for sharing the recipe… but may I know what is the purpose of adding the hot water…?
Olivia says
Hi Li! The hot water helps to bloom the cocoa powder. So glad you liked it!
Rowena Galvez says
Did you use boiled water or lukewarm?
Olivia says
Hi Rowena! I boil my water in a kettle, pour it into a measuring cup and then use it. It’s very hot still at that point.
Jenny Z. says
Wish I could share my after pic!! It was such a fun. Recipe and tasted beautiful.
Olivia says
Hi Jenny! You can email it to me, I would love to see it!!
Asha Daya says
I’m doing something similar for my sister-in-law’s birthday this weekend…
but I’m combining the caramel with whipped cream to cover the double layer chocolate cake.
Then, I’m going to drip caramel and chocolate down the sides and am topping it with Cadbury’s whispers and mixed berries.
Also placing Whispers around the base of the cake.
Olivia says
Hi Asha! That sounds delicious, I’m sure she’ll love it!
Adriana says
To bake as 2-8” cake, how long do you recommend I bake for?
Olivia says
Hi Adriana! The baking time should be similar.
Linda says
Hi Liv, thank you for the fantastic recipe. I made this cake for Mother’s Day and it was a huge hit. It turned out perfect and tasted great. I look forward to trying your other cakes 😊
Olivia says
Hi Linda! So happy to hear it was a hit! Can’t wait to see what you try next 🙂
Sarah says
Hi, I’m doing a Neapolitan cake for my moms birthday and I’m looking for a recipe that will make an 8” round without too much extra cake.. would this recipe work for one 8” and one 6”? I just don’t need two 8” and don’t want to be wasteful.
Olivia says
Hi Sarah! Hi Sarah! I think it should work fine for one of each of those. Be sure not to fill the pans more than half full as the batter rises a lot! Otherwise you can halve the recipe and make only one 8″ cake.
Lili Lamouche says
Hello hello!!!
I’m about to go buy everything for this recipe, for Easter!! I was wondering… Hiw long in advance do you think i can do it?! Its Wednesday and I need it for Saturday, was rhubking about doing it today…
Thank you again for this amazing recipe.
Olivia says
Hi Lili! This reply is obviously coming to you a little too late, but finishing it all on Wednesday would be a bit too early. You can do all of the components then though and freeze, then thaw when you’re ready to assemble.
Brooke says
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes? I’ve made the full cake before and it’s amazing! I’m just wondering if it would work for cupcakes for a work event… Has anyone tried this?
Olivia says
Hi Brooke! Yes, it will work totally fine, you just need to reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. And be sure not to fill your cupcakes more than half full as this batter rises at LOT.
Tiffany says
Hey there is it possible to have the recipe in grams? All the conversations site gives different conversions and I messed up my cake because of it 😭
Thank you heaps
Olivia says
Hi Tiffany! There is a metric converter below the list of ingredients 🙂
Ellie says
The metric converter isn’t working properly. We can’t effectively measure baking soda in ml. It converted dry ingredients into liquid measurements…
Izzy says
You can find plenty of online conversion tables 🙂
Dianne says
I agree with Ellie, the converter doesn’t seem to be working properly.
Wally Rodriguez says
Does this cake hold under fondant or is it too soft?
Olivia says
Hi Wally! Yes, that should work fine. Be sure to chill the cake well first.
Natalia says
Can I double the recipe of the frosting ? 6 eggs and 2 cups of sugar and so on ? Yummy
Olivia says
Hi Natalia! Absolutely. That will work just fine.
Mel says
I will make this tomorrow for a friend’s Birthday but I am curious, why do we use vegetable oil instead of butter? I tend to lean towards butter in my baking, could I use butter in this recipe or would that be risky?
Olivia says
Hi Mel! Oil just works better for this particular recipe. If you use melted butter instead, it will still work, but the cake will be a bit more dense and dry.
Summer says
I am having trouble getting my cakes to be tall enough. I used three 6×2 inch pans and all the batter, but I don’t seem to be getting any height. Esecially since I had to level my cake because of no even bake strips. Why might my cakes not be filling out as much? I’ve looked at your flat cake tips and yours seem to be filling out the pan regardless of the strips.
Olivia says
Hi Summer! Have you checked to see that your baking soda/powder are not expired? This cake batter rises a LOT and should hit the top of those 6×2″ cake pans.
Tarangini darur says
OMG! Delicious!!THank you very much for the yummy recipe. Followed reciepe to the “T” and turns out great each time. Made twice in a week!! Can’t get enough of it. Thank you!!
Definitely gonna try all of your cake recipes !
Olivia says
Hi Tarangini! Twice in a week! Wow, that is high praise. So glad you liked it and can’t wait to hear what else you try!
Vanessa says
Hi Olivia! I am so exited about trying out this great recipe! But i am curious about where to storage the cake once is done..Should it be at room temperature or fridge?
Olivia says
Hi Vanessa! You can store it at room temp for a day or two, otherwise in the fridge for a few days.
Beth Halvorsen says
I made this cake for a training luncheon. Everyone loved it. I read in a comment that someone substituted coffee for the water, so I did too. It was perfect. Not overpowering just enhanced the depth of flavor. I need to practice my ganache drizzle skills, mine wasn’t as pretty, but when it comes to cake, Pretty is … As Pretty Tastes…. and my tasted PRETTY.
Olivia says
Hi Beth! So glad everyone loved it! And I totally agree, the prettiness is in the taste not the appearance!!
Anastasia K says
Hi! Is it ok to bake one layer at a time? I only have one form:) and what does “frosting the top with crumbs “ mean? Do I put just a bit of cream on top? Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Anastasia! The batter should be baked immediately, I don’t think one at a time would work. A crumb coat is just a thin layer of frosting on the cake, like you see here. I put frosting between each layer and then a thin frosting coat all around that I scraped off. I hope that helps!
Anastasia says
Thank you!
Chef Lu says
Wow perfect thank you for the recipe everybody is raving about it.Thanks a million and keep doing what you do best baking.Love your recipes.
Olivia says
Hi Lu! So glad everyone liked it 🙂
Anastasia says
Hi Olivia! I would love to make it for my daughter 1st Birthday. I have a quick question. What do you mean by “frosting with thin crumb coat? Do I coat the last cake layer with buttercream and then add ganache? Was confused a bit… Also, the sides of the cake.. it looks like the cream spread out unevenly which makes it look stunning. How to achieve it?
Olivia says
Hi Anastasia! A crumb coat is just a thin layer of frosting on the cake, like you see here. I put frosting between each layer and then a thin frosting coat all around that I scraped off. I hope that helps!
Denise Medeiros says
Made this cake for Christmas dinner and got rave reviews. Such a quick recipe to make with easy to follow directions. Thank you so much!!!
Olivia says
Thanks for the feedback Denise! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂