What makes Bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican Cake) so special? The secret is that this cake is incredibly delicate in texture and sinfully delicious.
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No other recipe on 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 so special? Well, you won’t know until you try it, but let me give you a spoiler: it may possibly be the best cake you’ll ever try.
What makes Bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican Cake) special?
The most important features of the Bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican Cake) are that it is very ‘airy’ and moist. It contains a large amount of butter, about a third of it in fact, and a large volume of air, producing a cake that virtually dissolves in your mouth.
The icing, which we call “suspiro” is actually meringue, not to be confused with merengue which is something we Dominicans dance to, not something we eat. That is important to remember. The traditional filling is made from pineapple, which gives it the faintest of tartness. It all combines into a creamy, fluffy, otherworldly concoction without which no Dominican birthday, wedding or festivity is complete.
About our Dominican Cake recipe
When I started this site it quickly became obvious that I needed to add the recipe for Dominican cake, 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.
Volumes can be written about Bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican Cake), and have in fact already been written (check the comments!). This cake seems to be the ultimate test for the expert Dominican cook, and however daunting, and confusing the instructions might look, we have really tried to add as much information as you could possibly need. Please read it.
Preparing the Bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican Cake) takes time. Lots of it. It is not something you can put together at the last minute. It takes planning and lots of preparation beforehand. It also requires that you follow the instructions very carefully. One little misstep could ruin your many hours of work. Please pay attention to the notes in the recipe.
Fillings for Dominican Cake:
- Pineapple Jam Filling – Recipe for the classic filling for this cake
- Guava Jam Filling– Another popular filling for the Dominican cake
- Pastry Cream Filling– A refined filling to take your cake to the next level
- Dulce de Leche (Milk Fudge) Filling – It takes your cake to another level
Icing for Dominican Cake:
Bizcocho Dominicano cupcake version
- Bizcocho Dominicano Cupcakes – How to make Dominican cake into cupcakes
Buen provecho!
Bizcocho Dominicano Recipe (Dominican Cake)
Ingredients
To prepare the molds
- 2 tablespoon of butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon of flour
For the cake
- 1/2 lb (220 grams) of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 lb (220 grams) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 lb (220 grams) of sugar
- 3 medium eggs [55 g/ea] at room temperature
- 1 pinch of grated lime peel
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of orange juice , divided into thirds
Instructions
To prepare the molds
- Grease two 8″ [20 cm] non-stick baking molds and sprinkle with the flour.
How to make Dominican Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 °F [175 °C].
- Mix the flour and baking powder and sift together. Divide into thirds and set aside.
- Beat together butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy and has a very light yellow color (about 4 mins).
- Add the eggs one by one and continue beating until each is well incorporated into the mixture before adding the next.
- Add the lime peel, and vanilla. Pour in a third of the juice, when it is well combined add a third of the flour. Repeat adding the flour and juice in thirds and keep whisking until all is well-mixed before adding the next third.
- As soon as you’ve stopped mixing the last batch of flour turn off the mixer, you should have obtained a fluffy batter with a smooth and even consistency.
- Pour in half the batter in each baking pan, making sure not to disturb the butter/flour cover.
- Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (about 30 mins). Cool down cakes to room temperature before removing from the pan.
To assemble
- Cut the upper crust of the cakes, making them even. Pour the filling you chose (list above the recipe) then spread on the cut side of one of the cakes. Join both cakes filling-side in.
- To decorate the cake spread the meringue (list above the recipe) on top and around the cake, add decoration according to your taste and skills.
Notes
Important things to remember:
Please read the whole recipe carefully before starting.- Have all the ingredients at hand and ready.
- If you are preparing this cake for a special occasion I strongly suggest that you do not do it for the first time then. Bake a ‘rehearsal’ cake, this will give you time to adjust quantities, ask questions and improve your skills.
- Dominican cake must be consumed at room temperature, and best consumed 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 hand-held 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 need a scale to follow this recipe. 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. Should you still wish to convert these weights, you can use this guide. Please do so yourself, and at your own risk.
- 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 myriads 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.
I’ve been baking dominican cakes for about twenty years , by experience I’ve learned not to use non stick pans it changes the texture of cake . I prefer to use regular pans. Also just wanted to say to those who are just learning to bake domican cakes is a difficult cake to bake . And most likely you will mess up your first time but when you get you will love it.
thanks for the encouragement.. anyt suggestion it will be my first time making it
hi I would like to know I have done only one pound if I want to make two pounds I just double the ingredients.
Hi Tia Clara! i wanted to let you know i made my first ever dominican cake with guava filling and it was really good! Not perfect but really good. I do have several things I wanted your opinion about as I am no baker or chef but a newbie at some of the baking terms. On the cake batter: 1. Recipe calls for baking powder, I used baking soda. My cake did rise but is there a HUGE difference between both? 2. Recipe calls for Vanilla extract, I used vanilla that was brought to me from Dom. Rep. which has… Read more »
1. Yes!! There is a huge difference. Never substitute.
2. Yes, you can use clear vanilla extract, of course adding dark vanilla extract will change the color.
3. All-purpose flour is bleached.
For the suspiro:
1. You are correct, the second is in Celsius.
2. It shouldn’t caramelize at that temperature. If you use pasteurized eggs you can skip the caramel step, but you may need to add more sugar to acquire the right consistency. You can also use powder meringue, I do it when I am too lazy or I am cooking for kids and wouldn’t like to risk salmonella poisoning: http://astore.amazon.com/dominicanccom-20/detail/B000ZNOVCA
Good luck!
If you’re making this cake, I would HIGHLY recommend lining the pans with parchment. The cake tastes amazing but sticks like crazy!!!!!!!
Hello. I’d like to know if this recipe can. E made into a rum cake? If so, what would the changes include and their measurements. Another question, can the orange juice be substituted for dairy or will that change the texture of the final product? Thanks!
You can experiment and use milk instead (I haven’t tested that change, so I don’t know), same for the rum. Good luck!
Esta receta es excepcional! Doble la cantidad de ingredientes y junto con la receta de Suspiro y Crema Pastelera (hice una variante con dulce de leche) todo me salió fenomenal, logré un bizcocho sabroso y de libra y media. Soy un joven de 26 cocinero amateur.
Good job!
Just made this yesterday for my husband’s birthday and it was a big hit! I also used your Suspiro recipe, which in my opinion, turned out better than most other ones I’ve tasted. I did substitute the flour for gluten free flour (the one I used was a 1-1 substitute). It was still delicious, but a bit flatter than I think it’s supposed to be–could have also been because I used 9″ cake tins rather than 8″. Thank you for this recipe, I’ll definitely be using it again!
So glad to hear you liked it! And happy birthday to your husband.
Hi, I attempted this cake for the first time today, and the taste was fine but the texture was very dense, not airy and fluffy like it’s supposed to be. It almost thought it wasn’t done baking because it just didn’t have that nice fluffy texture. Is it supposed to be like that? I did follow the recipe pretty well, so I’m not sure where I went wrong? Any advice?
Check ingredients for freshness. Check your oven for correct calibration (use an oven thermometer).
I’m used to Dominican cake being more dense like a pound cake, so to me, this sounds right Nayadee.
First let me say I consider myself a good home baker. I have been baking since I was a child. I was intimidated. my this article and the thought that this was a very difficult recipe. I decided to make it for my husband’s birthday celebration. I am unsure where the the difficult factor comes in. it is a butter cake with a meringue frosting. Follow the directions and you will be rewarded with a delicious cake. !! I filled mine with a pineapple filling made with some good Dominican rum… The cake was a hit with my family, thanks… Read more »
I am SO glad to hear it worked for you. It actually isn’t difficult for me, but most of our readers have no experience baking, and this is not the best cake to start if you’ve never baked. 🙂
No entiendo porque ahora en NYC, Los cakes Dominicanos Los hacen con frosting en ves de merengue O supiro como Lo llamamos. Recuerdo que Lo hacia de Niña batiendo la Clara con un tenedor y azucar.
El frosting dura mas, no tienes temor de poisoning con el huevo.
How long can you leave the cake outside of the refrigerator?
No more than half a day, you don’t want the butter to go rancid.
La chica que usualmente le compro mis biscochos dominicanos me sugiere que en el verano el ponga un abanico blowing air pero que NO use la nevera. Cual es su punto de vista?
No he probado su truco, pero si lo haces y te funciona me dejas saber, por favor.
Aunt Clara,
How about the suspiro, do you have a recipe for that as well? And maybe the correct way to apply it over the cake?
There’s a link above the recipe, and sorry, cake decoration is above my pay grade. 🙂
R u using white or dark vanilla — Dominican, that is.
Dark vanilla.
When you say it makes 8 portions, what exactly does that mean? It makes enough for 8 people?
Yes, enough for 8 people. Maybe even 10 if you serve smaller slices.
Can I use coconut flour instead of regular flour.
No, you can’t with this recipe.
I wanted to substitute the vanilla extract with clear Dominican vanilla, how much do I use?
It’s the same.
what kind of orange juice? any?
I prefer freshly-squeezed orange juice, but good quality supermarket juice works too.
Hello, I was just wondering what attachment should be on the stand mixer for this cake. I am a lottle confused because some steps say beat while other says whisk. Just want to make sure I am clear on that. Thank you!
Paddle attachment for the batter, wire attachment for the meringue.
Hey Aunt Clara,
Im planning on making this cake for Thanksgiving. Could I make it a day in advance and still get the same results?
Thank you in advance.
It’s best eaten the same day at room temperature. It has a lot of butter, and it gets dense and hard when refrigerated.
No c si trabaje con este cake. pero hay personas que lo enveulven en papel plastico para que no pierda lo fluffly y c ponga duro y lo pones en la nevera sin problemas. Solo asegurate de sacar el cake unas cuantas horas antes (si la temperatura esta fria con en otono en NY) pero Sto Dgo weather reduce la cantidad a la mitad para que como dice ella la mantequilla no c ponga rancia.
No soy un professional baker. Solo leo informacion en la web y la comparto.
Hi
I want to make this cake for one of my friends for her birthday ,however she needs it to be gluten free can I substitute almond flower?
I don’t think so, but I have never tested it.
Hi Aunt Clara!! I baked the cake as a test run. I made iy with dulce de leche and it turned out great. My question is that I want to make a tiered cake (de tres pisos). One 8″ 10″ and 12″. How would you recommend I adjust the recipe? Do I triple it? Thank you in advance for your time!
I am glad it worked for you. I would suggest you bake twice the cakes, then you’ll have an extra one left over that you can experiment on. 😉
I really like it so much. Thanks for sharing such a nice recipe.
I am domincan mixed with guatemalan. And i made a bizcocho and everyone loved it
In the directions you say to beat together the butter and sugar, you also say to whisk… so should I be using the paddle or the whiskey attachment. And the eggs it matters mefiem, large, or extra large.
Eggs medium. Use paddle throughout. Thanks!
YUMMMMMYYYY!!! I finally had a piece while the filling is still on the stove! A+++++++
I understand that the cake Has to be served at room temperature I plan on making it for a party of course I’m going to practice before but I wanted to know how long can the specific cake be left at room temperature since it has fresh fruit filling what’s your experience
I wouldn’t leave it more than 4 to six hours. You can refrigerate and let it reach room temperature before serving.