Recipe: Tres Leches Cake (Three Milks Cake with Variations)

TRES LECHES CAKE (THREE MILKS CAKE)



Raul: "This is one of the most delicious cakes ever invented. It's really a Nicaraguan dessert."

Jorge: "... but it is served in just about every Cuban restaurant in Miami."

Glenn: "It is a very rich and filling cake. It gets its name from the three milks - sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream - that are soaked into the cake, making it the moistest and most delicious cake you've ever had."

Jorge: "The cake is like one big giant sponge soaking up the delicious milk syrup."

Raul: "You can actually eat this one with a spoon!"

FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

FOR THE SYRUP:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (14 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups heavy (whipping) cream
2 tablespoons light rum (a little more if you are in a party mood!)

FOR THE FROSTING:
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 9x13-inch baking dish.

TO PREPARE THE CAKE:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Separate the egg yolks and whites. Beat the whites until very foamy and frothy. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. As you continue mixing, slowly add the milk. Then add the flour mixture, a little at a time, until all the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Finally, use a spatula to gently fold in the beaten egg whites until completely mixed. Pour batter into the baking dish.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Now it's time to get fancy. Invert the cake onto a jelly roll pan or a baking tray with a raised edge on it - something to catch the syrup! Use a fork to repeatedly pierce the top of the cake.

TO MAKE THE MILK SYRUP:
Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and rum in a mixing bowl, until well blended.

Slowly pour syrup over the cake a little at a time and let it soak in. Be patient! Use your fork to help it along a bit, piercing here and there through the syrup until most of the milk syrup is absorbed. Don't worry if there is still a pool of syrup around the bottom of the cake, it will gradually soak in.

Cover the syrup-drenched cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before frosting.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks. Set aside. In a separate pan, mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer reads 230 degrees F. Remove from heat.

While beating the egg whites with an electric mixer, pour the hot syrup into the egg whites all at once; continue beating for about 5 minutes. With the addition of the hot syrup, your frosting should "puff up" and thicken. Let the frosting cool at room temperature.

Use a wet spatula to spread a thick layer of the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.

TO SERVE:
Cut individual squares, top with a red maraschino cherry, and serve cold.

VARIATIONS:

BANANA TRES LECHES CAKE:
Add 1/3 cup banana liqueur to the milk syrup, omit rum, and reduce the evaporated milk to 3/4 can.

CUATRO LECHES CAKE:
Many Miami restaurants now serve a Cuatro Leches Cake. This is the basic Tres Leches Cake with a topping of Dulce de Leche (caramel sauce). If you want to serve this, follow recipe instructions above. Serve the cake in a bowl or round sundae dish. Add a layer of Dulce de Leche (Caramel Sauce) around the sides of the cake in the bowl.

Makes 12 servings
Source: Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban by Glenn M. Lindgren, Raul Musibay and Jorge Castillo