Gabe Abraam
Authentic Tres Leches Cake (Milk Cake)
The tres leches cake comes from Nicaragua, it means three milk cakes. The
three milks are evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. It is a sponge
cake or bread. If you don’t add butter, it is very light and has lots of air bubbles.
It is one of the most popular cakes in Mexico.
Recipe at http://www.patismexicantable.com/2010/02/tres_leches_cake/
If you don’t understand the instructions after the ingredients, go to the website
and look at the pictures.
Ingredients:
Cake








9 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups of all-purpose flour
Sauce
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the topping
 2 cups heavy whipping cream
 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan, lining the bottom
with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the pan.
2. Pour the egg whites into the bowl of your mixer and beat on mediumhigh speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they hold soft peaks. Slowly stir in
the sugar and continue beating until they hold hard or stiffen peaks. Turn
off the mixer and with a spatula, move the egg white mixture into a large
mixing bowl.
3. Rinse the bowl of the mixer and its whisk. Then pour the egg yolks into
the bowl of the mixer and beat on medium-high speed for about 5 to 6
minutes, or until the egg yolks become creamy, puffy and their color has
toned down to an almost cream color rather than a loud yellow. Stir in the
vanilla and continue beating for another minute. Turn off the mixer.
4. Pour the egg yolk mixture onto the egg white mixture and with a spatula,
in evolving motions, combine them into a homogeneous single batter. Do
so gently trying not to lose much volume from the mixture. When fully
combined, fold in the flour, scraping the bowl with the spatula so that all
the flour is well mixed.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and place into the oven for
22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. It can be a bit moist,
but not wet. The top of the cake should be tanned and feel fluffy if you
touch it. Remove it from the oven and let it cool.
6. Once it cools down, turn it onto a platter. Remove the parchment paper
and cover the top with an upside down platter and invert again. The platter
should be large enough to hold the cake and the vanilla sauce you are
about to prepare. Use a fork to poke holes all over the cake so that it will
better absorb the vanilla sauce.
7. In a mixing bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated
milk, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour the vanilla sauce over the cake.
8. In the bowl of your mixer, whip up the heavy cream with the
confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture holds up stiff
peaks, about 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the whipped cream all over the already
wet cake.
Pictures: