Saturday, May 21, 2011

One thousand layers cake with dulce de leche

This is a classic Chilean cake, this actual recipe is from my great aunt, she used to bake this cake for my birthday as a present. She usually makes this cake at least a day in advance and it taste great for 3-4 days. 

One thousand layers cake with dulce de leche


Ingredients: 
for the dough,
  • 3 cups sifted flour
  • 250 grams/ 8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 egg yolk, room temperature
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon rum or pisco
  • 1 pinch of salt
for the filling,
  • 3 cups of dulce de leche or caramel (available in Latin supermarkets, I like La Lechera brand sold in cans, usually right next to the condensed milk)
  • 2 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar 
Directions:
  1. Combine the flour and salt  in a big bowl. Add butter in chunks, egg yolks, milk and liquor, work to form a dough of medium consistency. Do not work with your hands, use a fork or 2 knives or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, the important thing is to not use your hands because the body heat will melt the butter and bits of butter remaining in the dough is what gives the crispness to the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and let stand in the fridge overnight or at least 6 hours.
  2. Preheat oven to 350F or 180C.
  3. Divide the dough into 14 equal portions. Roll each piece on a floured counter until very thin, using a paring knife cut circles of 9" of diameter, I usually use a cake pan as a guide, pierced the circle of dough with a fork in almost the entire surface and bake for 5-7 minutes until just golden, let cool.
  4. Assemble the cake filling in between each layer with dulce de leche, every 3 layers add ground walnuts also, saved 1 cup for decoration purpose. Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of dulce de leche and sprinkle with a mixture of walnuts and powered sugar. 
  5. Let it rest well cover in the fridge and serve at room temperature.