Ingredients
Cake
- 250 gbutter
- 300 gsugar
- 6eggs, separated
- 350 gcake flour
- 2 tspbaking powder
- ½ tspsalt
- 150 mlorange juice
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- zest of 1 lime
Filling
- 400 gpineapple jam or loosened guava paste
Suspiro
- 400 gsugar
- 150 mlwater
- 4egg whites
- ½ tspcream of tartar
- 1 tsplime juice
- 1 tspvanilla extract
Directions
- Cream the butter with two thirds of the sugar for a full 10 minutes, until very pale and light. This long creaming is what gives the cake its characteristic airiness.
- Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
- Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the orange juice, in three additions.
- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with the remaining sugar and fold them in last of all.
- Fold gently and stop the moment it is combined. Everything about this cake depends on the air you have just beaten into it.
- Bake in two lined 22 cm tins at 175°C (345°F) for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool completely, then split each layer horizontally to give four.
- Spread the pineapple jam between the layers, but not too thickly, or the cake slides apart under the weight.
- For the suspiro, boil the sugar and water to 118°C (245°F).
- Whisk the whites with the cream of tartar to soft peaks, then pour the hot syrup in a thin steady stream down the inside of the bowl while whisking.
- Pour the syrup down the side and never onto the beaters, which flings it in threads up the bowl where it sets hard and is simply lost.
- Keep whisking for 8 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is stiff, glossy and completely cool to the touch.
- Beat in the lime juice and vanilla at the end.
- Cover the whole cake thickly in suspiro and swirl it into peaks with a palette knife.
Technique
- Suspiro is an Italian meringue, cooked by the hot syrup, which is what lets it stand at room temperature for a day without weeping.
- The cake is deliberately light and slightly dry, because it is built to take a wet filling and a heavy frosting.
- It is the cake for birthdays and weddings, and it is almost always ordered rather than made at home.
Substitutions
- Guava, dulce de leche or passion fruit in place of pineapple.
- Plain flour with 2 tbsp replaced by cornflour, if you have no cake flour.
Variations
- With a layer of dulce de leche as well as fruit.
- Soaked with a little rum before filling.
- Made as a single tall layer for a smaller gathering.
History
Light sponge soaked in fruit and covered with suspiro, a stiff Italian-style meringue frosting, made for birthdays and weddings.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dominican cake?
Dominican cake is a dessert from Dominican Republic: airy celebration cake with pineapple filling and meringue. Light sponge soaked in fruit and covered with suspiro, a stiff Italian-style meringue frosting, made for birthdays and weddings.
How long does Dominican cake take to make?
Dominican cake takes 45 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 cake, 12 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Dominican cake?
Yes, within limits. Guava, dulce de leche or passion fruit in place of pineapple. Plain flour with 2 tbsp replaced by cornflour, if you have no cake flour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Dominican cake?
Pour the syrup down the side and never onto the beaters, which flings it in threads up the bowl where it sets hard and is simply lost.
