Today we have a recipe of a very yummy and soft milk caramel (dulce de leche) sponge cake.
The sponge is moist and tender and has a nice caramel colour flavour.
We are going to make a small cakes (8 cm in diameter, for two portions) with caramel ganache and some chocolate praline.
As a cream I’ve used white chocolate ganache with milk caramel and spices. Chocolate drops are made of chocolate praline paste with some milk caramel as well.
Alright, here is the recipe:
Ingredients for the milk caramel sponge:
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 100 g sugar
- 2 whole medium eggs (at room temperature)
- vanilla essence
- 120 g milk caramel
- 100 ml whole milk
- 135 g cake flour
- 25 g corn starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp grounded ginger
- 1/4 tsp grounded cinnamon
Directions for the batter:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
- Have all ingredients at room temperature. Scale the ingredients accurately.
- Place the butter, the sugar and salt in the mixing bowl, cream the mixture at medium speed until the it is light and fluffy. This will take appx. 7-8 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mix well to blend them in completely.
- Warm the milk a bit and mix it with the milk caramel.
- Combine the flour, the starch, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon in a bowl, mix together and sift.
- Add one-third of the sifted dry ingredients to the batter, mix just until blended in. Than add one-third of milk mixture and mix again. Go on adding in stages dry ingredients and milk, until everything is in. Mix just until blended in, do not overmix the batter.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally for even mixing.
Baking the milk caramel sponges:
- Pour the batter in a mould or moulds (I’ve used 4 small rings, 8cm in diameter)
- Bake around 35-40 minutes, the exact time depends on the oven and the size of your mould.
- When baked, remove from the oven and let cool a bit, than demould and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Ingredients for the white chocolate ganache with milk caramel:
- 60 ml heavy cream (min 35%)
- 0.5 sheet of gelatin
- 100 g white chocolate
- 40 g milk caramel
- 130 ml heavy cream (min 35%),cold
- a pinch of grounded cinnamon and ginger (optional)
Directions for the ganache:
- Place the half of gelatin sheet in a cold water.
- Heat the white chocolate to 45°C (113°F) to melt it (in a double boiler or in a microwave but with caution).
- Bring the 60 ml of cream to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Add the squeezed gelatin to the cream. Mix well.
- Pour the cream into the chocolate, mix well until completely blended.
- Add the milk caramel and spices and mix well to blend it in.
- Add the 130 ml of cream. Mix well.
- Cover with a plastic film and send to a fridge for 5-6 hours minimum.
- When completely cold, whip the ganache until creamy, but be careful not to overwhip it.
For the chocolate drops
Combine 50 g of chocolate praline paste and 50 g of milk caramel, mix well until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
For the sugar rum syrup
- 80 ml water
- 80 g sugar
- 1-2 tbsp of ron (optional)
Preparing sugar syrup
- In a saucepan combine the sugar and water, stir and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Cook and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Remove any scum. Cool the syrup.
- After the syrup is cooled add some rum.
Assembling the cakes
- Cut the cakes into 2 layers.
- Place the ganache in a pastry bag with a round nozzle.
- Moisten the sponge layers with the syrup and sandwich them together with ganache.
- Decorate the top of the cakes with a cream peaks a using pastry bag. For the chocolate praline use a pastry bag with a smaller round tip.
- Sprinkle the cakes with some grounded cinnamon, you can also use grounded chocolate, chopped nuts, sugar powder, edible glitter etc. to your taste).
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