Valentina Ablaev
This layered dulce de leche cake is the perfect holiday cake. It combines soft honey cake layers with a rich dulce de leche cream. Each bite of this cake is loaded with a symphony of flavors, and it’s easier to make than you would think!
Dulce de leche always adds flavor to any cake or dessert, like our napoleon cake and our simple korzinki recipe, or even our easiest dessert ever: dulce de leche waffle cake
This cake will become a classic around the holidays! Not only is it stunning, it also is so easy to make and may be prepared in advance.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Our easy dulce de leche cake is a stunning dessert that will impress anyone. The best part is that even a beginner can make it! Although it looks complex, our easy step-by-step recipe makes it attainable for anyone.
Ingredients for Dulce De Leche Cake
- Sugar – granulated white sugar helps to fluff up the cake batter and gives the perfect flavor.
- Eggs – large eggs are beaten with sugar to make a perfectly fluffy cake.
- Honey – provides a great flavor to the cake layers.
- Sour cream – a key ingredient to a fluffy and delicious cake layer.
- Flour – all-purpose flour is best when sifted to avoid any clumps.
- Cake soaking – a combination of milk and sugar gives each cake layer a moist and delicious texture.
- Cream – consists of cream cheese, dulce de leche, butter, and heavy cream.
NOTE: You can easily make dulce de leche yourself at home for a fraction of the price using sweetened condensed milk. You can see our detailed instant pot dulce de leche post. Trust me, it’s so much better than store-bought dulce de leche!
How to Make Layered Dulce De Leche
Prepare cake layers –
- Wet ingredients. In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and eggs for about 8 minutes on medium-high speed.
2. Whisk honey, sour cream, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add the honey and sour cream mixture to the eggs and fold lightly.
3. Dry ingredients. Sift together the flour and baking powder. These are your dry ingredients.
4. Combine. Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet batter and beat on low speed. Once combined, add the remaining dry ingredients. It is important not to overbeat, or the eggs will deflate.
5. Bake. Divide the batter among two 13×18” parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Add both pans to the oven at 350°F and bake for 18-20 minutes. Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool.
6. Make cake soak. While the cake is cooling, create the milk soaking. In a saucepan, heat milk and sugar until the sugar fully dissolves. Set aside to cool.
Make dulce de leche buttercream –
- Beat frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter.
2. Stir in the dulce de leche.
3. In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream together until soft peaks form.
4. Gently fold the whipped cream into the dulce de leche cream. Refrigerate cream until needed.
Assemble –
- Cake layers. Use a knife to cut each layer into 3 rectangles. To a cake platter, add the first layer. Use a pastry brush to add some of the soaking to the cake.
2. Frosting. Add a generous layer of frosting to the cake and spread. Top with the next layer and repeat until you’ve used all the cake layers.
3. Decorate. Use the remaining cake to coat the outside of the cake. Finish by decorating the cake to your liking.
Since the cake is rectangular, a rectangular platter may be used.
How to Decorate the Cake:
The cake decorations are entirely up to you! Here are some options for decorating your cake:
- Chocolate ganache: Make a homemade chocolate ganache to create a drizzle or a border on the cake, just like in our classic kiev cake recipe.
- Nuts: Use crushed nuts, like hazelnuts or walnuts to create a border on the cake. Use our layered carrot cake recipe as inspiration.
- Pipe edges: Make some extra frosting and use a piping bag and piping tips to make a border.
Expert Tips:
- Use the right ingredients. Make sure all the ingredients you use are at room temperature.
- Mix the cake batter properly. It is best to use an electric stand mixer to get the eggs light and fluffy. When incorporating the dry ingredients into the eggs, it is important to beat until just combined. You don’t want to beat the air out of the eggs.
- Cut the cakes with ease. If you’re worried about cutting each cake layer into 3, then fear not! To get the cakes perfectly cut, refrigerate each layer for 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes. This will make the cake so much easier to cut!
Recipe FAQs
We recommend baking the cakes simultaneously because if you wait, the eggs will begin to deflate, and the cakes won’t be equally fluffy. To make this cake, we recommend you have two baking pans.
To make a round cake, you could use two 8-inch or 9-inch round cakes and make three cakes then cut each layer in half.
No, though similar in color, dulce de leche and caramel are not the same.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Leftover cake can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to a week.
- Freeze. Keep leftover cake for longer by freezing! Wrap tightly or add to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw: Thaw the cake in the fridge overnight and enjoy!
More Dessert Recipes
If you enjoyed this dulce de leche cake recipe, be sure to try our other popular dessert recipes; here are some of our favorites:
If you tried this layered dulce de leche cake recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Layered Dulce De Leche Cake
Ingredients
layers:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour measured
- 2 tsp baking powder
soaking:
- 3/4 cup milk
- ½ can dulce de leche
frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese room temp
- 1 ½ stick unsalted butter room temp
- 1 (14 oz) can + remaining 1/2 can dulce de leche
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream cold
Instructions
prepare layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 13×18-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Add sugar and eggs to a mixing bowl and beat at high speed until the mixture doubles, about 8 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine the honey, sour cream, and baking soda.
- Pour into the egg mixture and beat on low until combined; don’t overbeat.
- Mix together the flour and baking powder. Add half of the flour to the egg mixture and beat on low speed. Add the remaining flour and beat until incorporated; don’t overbeat, or the eggs will deflate.
- Pour the batter between the two baking sheets.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
- Remove from the oven and completely cool. Then, cut each layer into 3 rectangle parts (this will give us six layers).
prepare soaking:
- Meanwhile, whisk together the milk and dulce de leche.
prepare frosting:
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter.
- Add the dulce de leche and beat on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add to the cream.
- Gently fold in with a spatula.
assemble:
- Add a layer to the bottom of a cake platter, and pour some of the soaking over the layer.
- Add a generous portion of the cream and spread.
- Repeat with the remaining layers.
- Cover the tops and sides of the cake with the frosting
- Decorate as desired.
Notes
- Use the right ingredients. Make sure all the ingredients you use are at room temperature.
- Mix the cake batter properly. In order to get the eggs light and fluffy, it is best to use an electric stand mixer. When incorporating the dry ingredients into the eggs, it is important to beat until just combined. You don’t want to beat the air out of the eggs.
- Cut the cakes with ease. If you’re worried about cutting each cake layer into 3, then fear not! To get the cakes perfectly cut, refrigerate each layer for 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes. This will make the cake so much easier to cut!
