Dulce De Leche Clementine Cake

Beautiful soft, fluffy Dulce de Leche sponge filled with a silky smooth swiss meringue buttercream flavored with clementines. With the sweet caramel flavor of the cake and citrus orange from the buttercream, this Dulche de Leche Clementine Cake will not only look gorgeous, but will also blow your mind in flavor.

Ingredients

Dulce de leche sponge

240 g unsalted butter , room temperature
340 g granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
485 g plain flour (all-purpose)
3 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp fine salt
¾ cup Dulche de Leche
360 ml whole milk, room temperature

Clementine swiss meringue buttercream

5 large egg whites
300 g granulated sugar
440 g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
1 tsp orange extract
3 clementines, zest
¼ tsp fine salt

To decorate

½ cup Dulce de Leche
Dried orange slices
Rosemary sprigs, optional
Feuilletine flakes

Instructions

Dulce de leche sponge

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Line the bottoms of two 23cm (9-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper.
Beat butter, sugar, and clementine zest until light and fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined. Mix in the vanilla essence and dulce de leche until well mixed. Scrape the bowl’s base and sides clean.
In a mixing basin, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well incorporated, alternating between the flour mixture (3 additions) and the milk (2 additions). Make sure you’re not overdoing it.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and equally distribute it. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover the cake pans with foil if the sponge begins to brown too much. TIP: After 45 minutes, keep an eye on the sponge since oven temperatures vary. The centers of these thick sponge cakes must be cooked for a long period.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cakes cool for 25 minutes before turning them out onto wire racks.

Swiss meringue buttercream

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the egg whites and sugar until well mixed. Place the egg whites and sugar in a basin over a kettle of boiling water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water, and whisk continually until the temperature reaches 70°C (160°F). When rubbing the liquid between your finger and thumb, the sugar grains should feel completely dissolved.
Remove the bowl from the heat and wipe the bottom with a clean towel before placing it on the stand mixer. Beat on medium to high speed with the whisk attachment until the egg white mixture is totally cool and the bowl is cool to the touch. This might take anything from 15 to 20 minutes.
The whisk attachment should be removed and replaced with the paddle attachment. Start adding the butter one tablespoon at a time on medium speed, only adding the next until the butter is completely absorbed. Continue to beat for another 3-5 minutes after all of the ingredients have been added, until the mixture is whipped and thick. Note: If it’s lumpy, whip it until it’s smooth.
Whip in the orange essence and clementine zest until well mixed.

To assemble

If the cakes are domed, slice the top off to produce a flat layer when they have totally cooled. After that, cut each cake in half. You’ll end up with four layers that are all the same thickness.
Place your first sponge cake layer on top of a dollop of buttercream on your cake plate to prevent it from sliding. Start piping the buttercream from the outside of the cake round and work your way to the center, using a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm plain piping nozzle. Then smooth that layer flat with a palette knife.
Place the second sponge layer on top of the first. Only pipe a ring of buttercream around the sponge’s edge (shown in my image above). Spread a thick layer of Dulche De Leche inside the ring and smooth it out flat.
Repeat the procedure of piping a complete layer of buttercream and smoothing flat with the third layer of sponge.
Finally, add the last sponge layer. TIP: To achieve a completely level top to your cake, use one of the bottom layers and turn it over.
Using a palette knife, smooth the buttercream onto the top of the cake. I prefer the aesthetic of a ‘naked’ layer cake, which has very little frosting on the edges and displays the sponge underneath.
Apply as much or as little more buttercream to the sides of the cake using a palette knife, smoothing it level around the sponge. All those lovely specks of clementine zest will be visible.
To finish, put a ring of Feiuelletine flakes around the edge, followed by a ring of rosemary, and finally dried orange slices.

Notes

To make the orange slices, cut oranges into thin slices using a mandoline or a sharp knife and place on a baking dish. Bake for one hour at 110°C (230°F) on low heat, then flip and bake for another hour. The slices must be dry and crispy, with no moisture. Return and check on them every 15 minutes if they need more time in the oven. The longer it takes to dehydrate an orange slice, the thicker it is.