The Poppy Seed Cake with Dulce de Leche Buttercream combines all the things I love in a cake, poppy seeds, walnuts, dulce de leche and chocolate.
- 1 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour fluffed, gently scooped, leveled (1 cup = 150 g)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup dried poppy seeds
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature (345 gr)
- 1 1/2 cans dulce de leche (1 can = 14 oz)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chips
- Chocolate Bar
- Vegetable peeler
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Preheat oven to 350 F, with the rack in the middle. Line two 8 inch round baking pans with parchment paper, set aside.
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Whisk together 3 eggs and 1½ cups sugar until combined. Add 1½ cups sour cream, 4 tsp baking powder and whisk again. Lastly add 1½ cups flour, 1 cup poppy seeds and or/ 3/4 cup walnuts, and whisk until no flour lumps appear.
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Divide batter between prepared baking pans and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then flip upside down onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
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With a serrated knife split each cake into two even layers horizontally.
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Whip 3 sticks room temperature butter for about 5 minutes or until light, fluffy and white in color, scraping the bottom of the bowl several times. Add 1½ can dulce de leche in thirds, minimally whipping after each addition.
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Heat 1/3 cup heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour over 1/3 cup chocolate chips. Allow sitting for 2-3 minutes. Stir until smooth. Allow cooling until room temperature before using (this will thicken it and allow for an even pour).
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Reserve 1 cup of frosting for covering the outside of the cake.
Now, put a dab of frosting onto a serving plate and press one layer of the cake to adhere. Add 1/4 of frosting on top and spread into an even layer. Repeat with the rest of the layers and cover the whole cake with the reserved frosting. -
Pour the ganache on top of the cake, spreading it over the top surface and moving some of it towards the edges for a beautiful drizzle down the sides.
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Run a vegetable peeler down the rib of the chocolate bar right over the cake, covering the top in chocolate curls. If the curls break up too much, heat the bar in the microwave in 2-3 seconds increments until you're able to run the vegetable peeler and the curls no longer break. Do not heat the bar too long, or it will liquify rendering it useless.