No other recipe in our site is as popular, or elicits as many questions as our Dominican cake. For those who have not tried it, it is hard to understand the fascination with this cake. What makes Dominican cake (recipe) so special? Well, you won't know until you try it, but let me give you a spoiler: it is incredibly delicate in texture and sinfully delicious.

When I started this site it quickly became obvious that I needed to add this recipe, which was not included in the original collection (I got, and still get, dozens of questions about it every week). Having never baked this cake before (it is rarely home-made in the Dominican Republic, we usually order it from a 'master baker'), I embarked on the quest for a recipe. That was not easy, each baker has their own (minor 'tweaks' really) and most guard it fiercely.

When I was able to find a recipe I tried it a first time. It was an unmitigated disaster. The second time however, and after carefully following the instructions, it was a success. As of the moment I am writing I have baked exactly five cakes (the first disaster included), so I am no an expert by any stretch of the imagination, which in a way allows me to see things from our regular users' perspective.

The most important features of the Dominican cake are that it is very 'airy' and moist. It contains a large amount of fat, about a third of it in fact, and a large volume of air, producing a cake that virtually dissolves in your mouth. Preparing the Dominican cake takes time. Lots of it. It is not something you can put together at the last minute. It takes planning and advance preparations. It also requires that you follow the instructions very carefully. One little misstep could ruin your many hours of work. Below you will find tips and tricks to help you achieve a successful result.

• If you are preparing this cake for a special occasion I strongly suggest that you do not do it for the fist time then. Bake a 'rehearsal' cake, this will give you time to adjust quantities, ask questions and improve your skills.
  
• Prepare the fruit filling with a lot of time in advance (preferably the day before). This will decrease the amount of work that you have to do on the big day.
  
• Dominican cake must be consumed at room temperature, and best consummed the same day. Since it contains large amounts of fat it will harden in the fridge, detracting from what makes it different, that is, its lightness.
  
• You cannot prepare this cake without a mixer. You will need, at the very least, a handheld one, and only if your cake is very small. We strongly suggest that you use a stand mixer. Once you start mixing the cake it has to be nonstop until the batter is finished. You will need your hands for other tasks, so if you are going to use a hand mixer please procure assistance. The recipe in our site can be prepared with a regular stand mixer; if you are preparing a bigger cake you will need a bigger, more powerful mixer. If your mixer is not able to move the volume of batter adequately your cake will fail to rise.
  
• You will definitely need a scale. I strongly discourage from converting weight to volumes for this cake. The reasons for this are a bit long to explain, but do trust me on this. Borrow a kitchen scale for the day or buy a cheap one. Up until very recently I used one that cost me about US$2.00. It doesn't matter if it is not exact in the extreme, whatever bias in the scale, if it is not too big, will balance itself by adding (or subtracting) some weight from all ingredients.
  
• The reason why I suggest baking the fruit filling with the cake is because, if you add the marmalade after baking the cake it will release moist that will seep into the cake, not the best result in my opinion. I have found this method to be the best, plus the cake infuses with some of the flavor from the fruit filling, improving it. The bake-in method is not recommended if you are going to use pastry cream.
  
• The 'suspiro', or meringue used to decorate the Dominican cake is virtually indistinguishable from royal icing. The reason why it is prepared differently for this recipe (adding boiling-hot caramel) is to somewhat 'cook' the egg whites, since there are no pasteurized eggs available in the Dominican Republic. Raw egg whites may contain salmonella, which can be fatally harmful to those who ingest it. If you can find pasteurized eggs, we suggest you use them; you can then skip the caramel part from the recipe. Better yet, use dehydrated royal icing mix, it is easier to prepare and much safer.
  
• To prepare ‘suspiro’ you must keep your utensils scrupulously clean. Wash them with plenty of hot, soapy water and let them dry before starting. The suspiro will not rise if it comes in contact with even a speck of grease.
  
• Humidity in the air and room temperature will affect the results when preparing 'suspiro'. Preparing it on a humid, or cold day is not easy; on a rainy day it becomes very difficult, if not impossible.
  
• Although you will probably not need it, have a bit (a cup or two) of extra powdered sugar at hand. Depending on a variety of circumstances the icing might need some extra sugar to achieve the necessary consistency. For spreading on the cake, aim for icing with a consistency slightly softer than that of cream cheese.
  
• If you are not an expert at decorating with royal icing, you can either search online for tips and tricks, or buy one of the myriad of books available on the subject. Cake decoration is out of the scope of our site. Mastering cake decoration is a long process, but with a bit of help you can produce some very nice results.

PLEASE ONLY ADD YOUR TIPS AND TRICKS TO THIS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK THEM IN THE HELP FORUM.

I did it ,I bake my first dom cake and everyone said it tastegreat. now I have to learn the finishing touch of this wonderful cake the icing

i was wondering for those who have baked the dominican cake, how messing is it with the filling bake in the cake? any tips and trick so this wonderful cake wont fall apart when i am taking it out of the cake pan?

The best thing is to let it cool down completely before removing from the baking pan.

Remember to butter and flour that pan real good before pouring in the batter. Forget about those fancy schmancy non-stick pans. Buttering and flouring does the trick better every time.

you must add a dust full of flour to the baking pan just a little, than you must let the cake cool down completly. than very carefuly remove the cake, also I recommend not baking in the filling. some of the filling taste better not bake in the cake just spread inthe layers of the cake.

I have baked the cake a few times already and they have come out pretty good. I changed a few things around, like instead of adding orange juice, I added the orange, stawberry, banana juice and it gave it an amazing flavor. I also added a teaspoon of Dominican rum (Barcelo Anejo) to the batter and the pineapple filling. Everyone loved it, especially my husband!