This no-bake dulce de leche waffle cake is a classic Eastern European treat. You’ll love the combo of crunchy wafers and creamy dulce de leche filling!
Chances are you’ve had a store bought waffle cake cookie. But when you make this cake homemade, the filling and the flavors are so much more more brilliant! It touts a depth of flavor and texture that you simply won’t find in pre-packaged desserts. If you love classic Eastern European desserts like this, you’ll also love our recipe for homemade plombir ice cream!
Finding Waffle Cake Sheets: Most European stores sell waffle cake sheets in a variety of flavors and colors (you can also find them on Amazon). Go ahead and mix and match them and have fun with it!
Dulce De Leche Waffle Cake 101
This waffle cake is a classic Eastern European treat. You’ll find a ton of different versions online, each with minor differences depending on where the baker comes from. What remains the same is how fun they are to eat and how easy they are to make.
- Flavor: The flavor of this dulce de leche cake is the perfect combination of slightly sweet wafer crackers and creamy, buttery dulce de leche filling. Is there more to say?
- Texture: The texture of this cake is crispy on the outside and creamy and chewy on the inside.
- Time: From start to finish, this quick cake only takes 20 minutes to put together.
Did you know? Dulce de leche is simple cooked sweetened condensed milk.
How to Make Waffle Cake
Making this simple cake only requires a bit of mixing and assembling.
- Make the Filling: Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the dulce de leche and softened butter over high speed until smooth.
- Assemble the Waffle Cake: Using a spatula, spread the filling mixture over a waffle cake layer. Stack a layer on top and repeat the process until you have four wafer layers (keep the top layer plain!).
- Slice the Cake: Next, slice the cake into small pieces on a cutting board. Assemble the cake pieces on a serving plate and refrigerate the pieces until you’re ready to serve them. Enjoy!
Homemade Dulce De Leche: Have an Instant Pot? Whip up your own dulce de leche from scratch using our easy Instant Pot dulce de leche recipe.
Tips & Tricks for Nailing this Waffle Cake Recipe
Although making this waffle cake recipe won’t turn your kitchen into a science experiment, a couple of tips will help you along the way.
- Use softened, room temperature unsalted butter. To make whipping up the filling that much easier, make sure to use room temperature butter. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to assemble the cake.
- Experiment with different fillings. Experiment with different fillings as you see fit. A couple of our followers have used peanut butter, chopped walnuts, or even Nutella!
- Refrigerate the pieces until you’re ready to serve them. To maintain the cake’s texture, keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it.
Storing & Freezing Waffle Cake
It’s best to keep the waffle cake either refrigerated or in the freezer in between snacking. Here’s all you need to know.
- Refrigerator: To keep the cake on hand for up to 2 weeks, keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freezer: To keep the cake on hand for 2-3 months, store it in the freezer in an airtight container or plastic storage bag. BTW, frozen waffles taste like caramel ice cream – so darn good!
FAQ
Can you mix the dulce de leche waffle cake filling by hand?
It’s not a good idea to mix the dulce de leche waffle cake filling without a stand mixer or hand mixer. Dulce de leche is a little too thick to mix by hand, so the help of the bowl of a stand mixer and a paddle attachment will be greatly welcome.
Are dulce de leche waffle cakes supposed to be crispy or chewy?
Dulce de leche waffle cake is supposed to be crispy on the outside from the waters and soft and chewy on the inside. In short, you want the perfect balance of both!
Is dulce de leche waffle cake supposed to be eaten hot or cold?
Dulce de leche waffle cake requires absolutely no baking whatsoever, so it’s best eaten cold or at room temperature. Some people even like to eat the little cakes frozen!
What happens to dulce de leche waffle cake the longer it sits in storage?
The longer dulce de leche waffle cake sits at room temperature, the softer it will get. If you want it to keep it’s original texture, you must keep it stored in the fridge or freezer in between snacking.
More Dulce De Leche Recipes
- Dulce De Leche Sandwich Cookies – Buttery, chocolate-dipped cookies filled with dulce de leche
- Golden Key Cake (Dulce De Leche Cake) – Dulce de leche cake with chopped hazelnuts
- Dulce De Leche Macarons Recipe – French sandwich cookies
- Dulce de Leche Cake Roll – 6 ingredient cake roll
Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz Dulce de Leche
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 package cake wafers
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the dulce de leche and softened butter until smooth in consistency.
- Using a spatula, apply the dulce de leche mixture over a waffle cake layer. Stack on another layer and repeat until you have four cake layers (make sure to leave the top one plain).
- Cut the waffle cake into bite-sized pieces. Refrigerate the cookies until you're ready to serve them. Enjoy!
Yum! I put nuts in mine too … love nuts.
Hi Irina, What kind of nuts do you put? That's an interesting idea!
I tried this waffle cake and it was awesome! I turned out so crispy on the outside and creamy and chewy on the inside which we loved. Thanks for sharing another perfect recipe.
Thank you, Natasha! Can't go wrong with waffle cake 😄
My favorite dessert! This sounds amazing!! I LOVE it!
Thanks, Katerina! I love this one too!
I am blown away, its just beautiful! Thank you so much!
And easy too! Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Heather!
Sometimes I add peanut butter. Delicious!
Ohh this is interesting, sounds delicious, thank you for the tip!
Did you use a hand mixer to beat the dulce de leche and butter?
Yes, or you can use a stand mixer.
My mom from Ukraine would boil condensed milk in the can to put on this cake😋
Hey Stella same here, dulce de leche is basically the same thing as cooked condensed milk.
Are they supposed to be crispy or soft?
The outside layer is still slightly crispy and the inside is soft and creamy. The longer it sits, the softer it gets.
My childhood favorite and still is! ?
I am in the same boat!!! It brings so many amazing memories.
I've added bananas to my version, and it tastes less sweet that way. I am going to post this banana waffle cake recipe on my blog soon.
Thats interesting addition. I wonder if bananas would brown over time.
First, you don't see them inside the cake. Second, the cake disappears within 2 days max lol bananas don't have time to get brown 🙂
When I was a child, my mom's friend made a cake that I loved. It was layers of crispy thin waffles. It was filled with a buttery whipped filling. She was raised in Hungary and is now deceased. I am now 66 y/o., so that's how long ago. Does this sound familiar to anyone. And where to get the waffles?
I get them at a local European market, sometimes Asian markets would have them too. If you can find either one of those near you, they might be there.
I made some last night, and also added condenced milk. sooo amazing
It's not too runny with condensed milk?
Try adding salted butter, it gives a nice salted caramel taste. I alway do when I make some waffle cake.
Vera, Great idea. I have been adding some salted butter into recipes. I am liking the salty effect, great tip.