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Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Tres Leches Cake (easy recipe)

Tres Leches is a classic cake recipe in some parts of Latin America, specifically in Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, although it seems it originated in Mexico. The cake's name "Tres Leches" refers to the three types of milk the sponge cake is soaked with: regular milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. It is a cake that is served chilled in the fridge, eaither with a meringue or whipped cream topping, and it's refreshing for summer time. The great thing about this cake is that it is very easy to make, and it is delicious, impress your family or friends with this people pleasing cake!



Ingredients:

For the cake:
- 3 eggs (at room temperature, preferably)
- 90 gr white sugar
- 90 gr all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

For the milk mix:
- 200 ml regular milk (whole, semi or skim, whatever you prefer is fine)
- 200 ml evaporated milk
- 200 gr sweetened condensed milk (notice how it is grams and not ml)
- A few drops of vanilla extract (optional)

For the topping:
- 200 ml heavy whipping cream (chilled)
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- Cinnamon
- Strawberries

Procedure:

0. Preheat the oven at 175ºC.
1. Beat eggs at high speed until foamy.
2. Once the eggs are foamy, gradually start adding the sugar, beating well, incorporating as much air as possible.
3. Once the egg mixture is very fluffy, thick and pale in color, keep beating at low speed for 2 minutes more. This will stabilize the eggs' texture, getting rid of the larger bubbles.
4. Sift in the flour, in two batches, and mix gently with a whisk, cutting through the batter.
5. Before you finish mixing, you can add vanilla extract if you want.
6. Pour the batter into a baking pan, it's better if it's a non-unmoldable pan (like the glass tray I used), so you can soak the cake in it without having to cover it with plastic wrap. Use butter or baking spray to grease the mold, if you're using a springform cake pan, use parchment paper.
7. Spread the batter evenly along the pan and tap lightly but firmly a few times to pop the larger bubbles. 
8. Bake at 175ºC for 12 to 15 minutes, making sure to check with a toothpick for doneness. I left the cake a few mnitues longer and it browned a little more than desired, but it's fine, it's not a very finicky cake. Just make sure to start checking it after the 12 minute mark.
9. Let the cake cool down and make the milk mix meanwhile.
10. Mix regular milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk together and set aside until the cake is completely cooled down.
11. If you're baking in a springform pan, you will want to unmold the cake, remove the parchment paper, and then cover the entire pan with plastic wrap so the milk mix doesn't seep through. This is why I recommend using a glass baking pan.
12. Pierce the cake with a fork or a knife, making sure all the surface is pierced through, so the milk can be absorbed completely.
13. Pour the milk mixture over the cake, focusing especially around the center. The cake will absorb everything easily, if you find there's still liquid around the edges, don't worry, it will eventually be absorbed.
14. Chill the cake overnight, and make sure to chill the heavy whipping cream as well.
15. The next morning, whip the whipping cream, adding sugar to sweeten it, and then spread it on the cake.
16. As a finishing touch, you can decorate it with cinnamon powder which goes great with it, and sliced strawberries to add a dash of tangy fruitiness to this milk cake.


Look at that deliciously moist, fluffy, and milky crumb! You guys need to try this cake out, especially during summer!


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