Every summer, there’s a charity cake sale at our village church, and I was invited to make a cake last minute. Of course, I said yes, I love sharing what I made, especially with a few wild edibles I picked.
Since it was last minute, I worked with what I had in the kitchen. I was missing a few of my usual ingredients, like cream, but I decided I could do without.
In the end, I was so pleased with how good the cake tasted.
I made ...
🎂 Chocolate Cake with Crema de Dulce de Leche and Homemade Wine-Infused Wild Berry Filling, finished with Italian Meringue
Servings: 8-10
Cake size: 8-inch round, 2-3 layers
🍰 Ingredients
🎂 Chocolate Cake:
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
1.5 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (75 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (240 ml) milk
½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) hot coffee or hot water
🍮 Crema de Dulce Dulce de Leche Filling:
1 can (14 oz / 400 g) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
3 large egg yolks
2 tbsp cornstarch (maize starch)
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Pinch of salt
🍷🍓 Wine Infused Wild Berries:
1 cup wild berries
1 cup Homemade (or store-bought) berry wine
½ cup sugar
☁️Italian Meringue Frosting:
5 large egg whites
1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Optional: 2-3 tbsp softened butter for extra richness
Instructions:
🍷🍓 Homemade Wine Infused Wild Berries
Combine berries, wine, and sugar in a saucepan.
Simmer gently until sugar dissolves and liquid thickens slightly.
Let cool completely.
🎂 Chocolate Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Stir in hot coffee or water until the batter is smooth and slightly thin.
Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely before filling.
🍮 Crema de Dulce de Leche Filling
Whisk 3 egg yolks with 2 tbsp cornstarch until smooth.
Add the condensed milk and whole milk. mix thoroughly.
Cook over medium-low, whisking constantly, until thick.
Remove from heat; stir in 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Cool until spreadable.
☁️ Italian Meringue Frosting
Wipe all tools with white vinegar to remove grease.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Heat without stirring for 5 minutes, then stir gently until sugar dissolves.
Bring mixture to 240°F (115-118°C) on a candy thermometer.
Meanwhile, whip egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.
Slowly pour hot sugar syrup into egg whites while whisking constantly.
Add vanilla and optional softened butter, whisking until glossy and fully incorporated.
🍫 Assemble & Frost Cake
Spread a layer of dulce de leche on top of the first cake layer.
Spoon some drunken wild berries over it.
I added some wild strawberries for some freshness.
Place the second cake layer on top of the crema and berries, pressing gently to level.
Spread Italian meringue over the entire cake.
Dust some cocoa powder on top. I didn't want to embellish so much for easy slicing, knowing that it would be a busy day.
I let it sit in the fridge for an hour, and off I went to the church to drop off this cake.
And it was just on time before the people arrived.
At home, I made another one to taste, just to see if my cake was okay. It’s a bit late for testing, but I still wanted to know if what I brought was good.
This was very delicious, the tartness of berries blended well with moist chocolate and was balanced by the crema de dulce leche de filling, the wine gave it some nice aroma and depth.
The Italian meringue frosting was light and held well.
I enjoyed this piece outdoors in the sunshine with a hot cup of coffee.
I was pleased it was delicious.
Have a lovely day,
Mariah 💗😊