In our house, we love dulce de leche (we are not at all averse to eating it by the spoonful), and we really love the pastry cake known as Torta Chilena (delicate, crispy layers of pastry laced with the rich, caramelly spread–see the recipe here). But Torta Chilena is quite labor intensive (a labor of love, but laborious nonetheless). I wanted to make a slightly less time-consuming cake featuring dulce de leche–one that was special in its own right. The result: this White Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake. It’s a more traditional cake-like cake (if that makes sense), but has lots in it to love. It does require more time than a box mix (though using ready-made dulce de leche will reduce the prep time), but it is so worth it.
White Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake
–Cake
2 ½ c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 c. white chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 c. butter
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 tbsp. vinegar, plus enough milk to make 1 c.)
–Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ c. butter, softened
1 c. confectioner’s sugar
1 c. white chocolate chips, melted and cooled
—Filling
1 recipe home-made dulce de leche (see directions below) — or use 1 (13.4-oz. can) prepared dulce de leche
Preparation
1. FILLING: To make dulce del leche, heat oven to 425º. Spray a glass casserole dish with cooking spray, pour both cans of condensed milk into it, cover the dish, and then set it in a bain marie (baño maria), which is a roasting pan filled with enough water to rise slightly above the level of the condensed milk in the casserole dish. Bake for about 2 hours, stirring periodically, until golden brown. Set aside and let cool. (This is the dulce de leche – there will be extra left over). If using prepared (canned) dulce de leche, proceed to making the cake. Note: you may need to vigorously stir (or even slightly heat) canned dulce de leche to make it spreadable.
2. CAKE: Reduce oven temperature to 350º. In a glass bowl, heat the 1 c. white chocolate chips in a microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each, until chocolate is mostly melted. [Note: be careful with the melting process; overcooked white chocolate turns into a hard lump.] Stir the chocolate until it is completely smooth and let cool. Spray 4 cake pans with cooking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray the parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Gradually beat in the eggs and egg whites, then add the melted white chocolate and incorporate. Add half the flour mixture, mix in, add half of the buttermilk, mix in and repeat. Spread the cake batter evenly into the 4 pans. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until knife/toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool.
3. FROSTING: Beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioner’s sugar together in medium bowl until smooth, then stir in 1 c. melted white chocolate chips (see note in #2 about melting white chocolate).
4. ASSEMBLY: Place 1 cake layer on plate/stand. Frost the layer with 1/3 of the dulce de leche, then with 1/6 of the frosting–just enough for a very thin layer; you want to be sure to have enough frosting left for the outside of the cake. Continue stacking layers, and use remaining frosting to frost top and sides of cake. Chill 1 hour before serving.
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