Pear Dulce De Leche Cake
Tender pear cake filled and frosted with a caramel-like Dulce de Leche Buttercream and bits of oat crumble.
Servings: 12
Calories: 500kcal
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.