This super tender Pear Caramel Cake is filled and frosted with a caramel-like Dulce de Leche Buttercream and bits of oat crumble.
I adapted this Pear Caramel Cake from my book Layered, which is in stores now! The shredded pears nearly melt into the cake and keep it incredibly soft and tender.
Adding Dulce de Leche to homemade buttercream is so luxurious. Similar to caramel, the dulce de leche adds a deeper, but not-as-sweet creaminess to the frosting. Making dulce de leche from a can of sweetened condensed milk is super simple, but you may also try a store-bought variety.
For an additional layer of texture, I added an Oat Crumble in the middle. The cake is so moist and the buttercream is so silky; I really feel like this cake benefits from a bit of crunch. The oat crumble recipe will certainly make more than you need. I encourage you to sprinkle leftovers over yogurt or roasted fruit!
Serve at your next afternoon gettogether with friends and family with a side of coffee or tea! Perhaps even have a slice after dinner.
Looking for another yummy pear dessert, but not much of a cake person? Try our Pear Pie with Butterscotch!
Recipe
Pear Dulce De Leche Cake
Ingredients
Pear Dulce de Leche Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon cardamom optional
- 3 medium pears such as Bartlett
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
Dulce de Leche Buttercream
- ⅔ cup prepared or store-bought Dulce de Leche
- small batch Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Oat Crumble
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter diced and softened
- ½ cup rolled oats
Dulce de Leche
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
Pear Dulce de Leche Cake
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cardamom (if using) and set aside. Peal the pears and shred the pears (a box grater works great here) and place in a mesh sieve (or a few paper towels) over a bowl to drain. If they are extra juicy, press down gently with a rubber spatula to release some of the excess liquid (or gently bundle them up and squeeze the paper towels). Set aside.
- Using an eclectic mixer, beat together the oil and sugar until combined. Add in the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in half of the flour mixture and mix on low until combined. Slowly stream in the buttermilk until incorporated. Add in the remaining flour and mix until mostly combined. Stop the mixer and fold in the drained shredded pears
- Evenly divide the batter between the two pans and bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.
Dulce de Leche Buttercream
- Mix the buttercream until silky smooth. Add in the Dulce de Leche and mix until fully combined.
Oat Crumble
- Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Place all of the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the mixture forms small clumps of what looks like “wet sand.” Dump the contents on a lined baking sheet and spread out. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes (stirring halfway) until the crumble starts to crisp and turn slightly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack then break up into small pieces (if the pieces are left large, then the cake will be difficult to slice).
Dulce de Leche
- Place an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a slow-cooker. Fill with enough water to full submerge the can.
- Turn the slow-cooker to “low” and cook for 8 hours.
- Very carefully remove the can from the hot water and let it cool at room temperature.
- Open the can and store the Dulce de Leche in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Assembly
- Place a cooled cake on a cake board or serving dish. Spread on about 1 cup of buttercream with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle on a generous amount of oat crumble and top with the second layer of cake. Frost the cake with the buttercream and decorate as desired.
- For the border, fill a piping bag fitted with a petal tip (Wilton #104), and pipe interlocking "V's" around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Keep the narrow end of the tip facing up as you pipe.
Christine
I feel like there's not enough sugar in this cake. I just made it, and although the texture seems okay...the layers aren't visually right to me. I managed to scrape a crumb off the side as I removed it from the pan, and it's lacking flavor - I attribute this to a lack of sugar, but you're the expert!
I consider myself an experienced baker, as I bake a lot of cakes (including every recipe from your Layered book!) to sell at my cafe, so I'm keen to know if it's a typo or 1/4 cup of sugar is the correct amount. I suppose the real test will be to taste a slice once it's iced!
stylesweet
Hi Christine, Thank you so much for reaching out. You are right, it was a typo and I am very sorry about this mixup. I redesigned the whole website a few months ago and have been making new recipe cards for everything. The cake is actually adapted from pear cake from Layered. I am so glad you enjoy the recipes from the book and my apologies for the error here.
Pauline Brodsky
I loved baking this with my daughter. The pear and dulce de leche go so well together!
Fay
Hi! How many cups of the buttercream would you recommend making to cover the cake? Thanks!
stylesweet
Hi! You will need 3 to 3 1/2 cups of buttercream for this two-layer cake. Enjoy!