Chocolate Dulce De Leche Cake

Dulce De Leche is a caramel made from condensed milk. Condensed milk is cooked down milk and sugar resembling a thick milk syrup and is then canned for convenience. When condensed milk is further cooked it turns into caramel.

Preparation for dulce de leche is simple. For Stovetop Dulce De Leche, place 4-5 cans of sweetened condensed milk (in their cans) straight into a pot and simmer the cans submerged in water for about 3 hours. Instant Pot Dulce De Leche is much quicker to make and takes about 50 minutes under high pressure to caramelize.

What is Dulce De Leche Cake? To put in easy words, dulce de leche cake will consist of the canned dulce de leche (caramel) in either the frosting, syrup, or cake layer. 

The difference between a homemade caramel recipe and Dulce de leche is in the ingredients. Caramel is usually made from fresh cream and sugar over the stovetop until it caramelizes. Dulce De Leche on the other hand is a type of caramel made from powdered milk or liquid milk and sugar (called condensed milk.)

Both are types of caramel only prepared with either milk or cream.

If you are very adventurous you can try to make your own condensed milk!

1. Combine 1 cup instant non-fat dry milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup boiling water, and 3 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter into a blender. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth. Yields a 14 oz can of condensed milk. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

The main ingredient to make dulce de leche cake is sweetened condensed milk that has been turned into dulce de leche. Make your own dulce de leche or buy the ready version in a can (sold in most grocery stores.)

The ingredients are very basic, you can measure them out as your preparing the cake layer. Just toss every ingredient into the bowl of a mixer. Measuring out all the ingredients is unnecessary. 

• Chocolate Cake Layers- all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, oil, eggs, brewed coffee, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• Caramel Frosting- the filling for dulce de leche cake is; softened butter (4 oz), room temperature cream cheese (8 oz), 14 oz dulce de leche, 16 oz Cool Whip.
• Walnuts- chopped walnuts are my choice of nuts, however, chopped hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds can be used.

Baker’s Note: can use 1 pint of heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar for the Cool Whip topping.

It’s important to use room temperature butter, cream cheese, and a completely thawed cool whip for successful frosting results. 

• Place the softened butter and cream cheese into the bowl of a Kitchen aid mixer. Whip with the whisk attachment for 3 minutes over high speed. 
• Place half of the dulce de leche into the whipped cream cheese; beat well and add the remaining dulce de leche in. Whip everything together until smooth. 
• Fold in the whipped cream or taking the whisk attachment stir the cream frosting in one direction.
• You are ready to frost the chocolate cake! 

To start the process of Chocolate Golden Key Cake (Chocolate Dulce De Leche Cake) make sure you have canned dulce de leche cooled and ready to use. I typically buy a bulk amount of condensed milk cans and cook them in batches in my instant pot, days in advance. Here is how to make Instant Pot Dulce De Leche. 

Once the caramel is ready and cooled, you can make this recipe! If you are short on time you can buy the ready dulce de leche at major grocery stores or European markets. 

1. To begin, make the chocolate cake layers. Place all the ingredients in the order given and mix in a Kitchen Aid mixer over low speed. 
2. Meanwhile, line an 18×13 sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Grease with cooking spray. 
3. Pour cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350°F. Cool completely before frosting. 
4. To Make the Dulce De Leche (caramel) Cream Frosting: Whip the softened cream cheese and butter for 3 minutes over high speed. Add the dulce de leche and continue to beat until well incorporated. Fold in the whipped topping and set aside.  
5. To Assemble and Frost the Chocolate cake: cut the cake layer in half crosswise to make 2 cake layers. Place one layer face down onto a serving dish or large rectangle plate. Frost the layer with half of the frosting and sprinkle with half of the walnuts. Top with the other cake layer and frost all the sides and top of the cake. 
6. Sprinkle cake with the remainder of chopped walnuts and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

The Golden key cake (dulce de leche cake) can be made with walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds. If you are allergic to nuts you can omit them altogether and add something crunchy like granola.  

This chocolate dulce de leche cake can be stored at room temperature a few hours before serving. I do not recommend this cake to sit out for too long as the buttercream can get very soft in warmer climates. It holds much better in the refrigerator, however, if you are in a cooler climate than me it may work out fine to leave it out longer. 

Storing: once frosted keep the cake refrigerated. An hour before serving take the cake out of the fridge and bring it to room temp or serve immediately. This cake is very moist so either way will be great for serving.  

Cakes freeze very well! Before you frost the cakes, wrap the cake layers in a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze solid. Then transfer into a large bag and keep frozen for up to 6 months in a deep freezer. 

To freeze assembled cake: frost and garnish cake with nuts (nuts freeze well too.) Place frosted cake in a [eafl id="18614" name="Rectangle Cake Container" text="rectangle cake container"] and freeze for up to 3 months. 

• Chocolate- use chocolate flakes or chocolate syrup over your cake layers to satisfy the chocolate craving! 
• Nuts- sprinkle hazelnuts over the cake for a Nutella-inspired flavor. 
• Dried Fruits- dried blueberries go very well with chocolate cake and a dulce de leche cream. 
• Pomegranate- garnish the top of the cake with pomegranate seeds (it freezes well too.)
• Fresh Fruits- strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries go well in cakes with condensed milk. 
• Ganache- cover your cake with chocolate ganache for a double chocolate cake! 

Our family-favorite way of eating cake is with a hot cup of tea or coffee. A side of fresh fruits or a cheese board is always a good idea for a tea party.

This dulce de leche chocolate cake can easily be turned into individual cake slices. Simply place each slice into cupcake liners and arrange it over a tower. Another way to serve this cake is to just cut it into squares right in the serving dish. 

If feeding a large crowd double the recipe and just stack each cake layer atop for easier cake assembly.