Say what?! A Tres Leche cake (Spanish for three milk cake) is a sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk; namely evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream. What sets this cake apart (besides its awesomeness) is its unique texture that prevents it from being a soggy mush despite being soaked in so much milk. And its absolutely to die to for. What a cake this is!
I first tried this cake in a Mexican bakery in LA, and it blew my mind! And ever since then, its been on my cooklist. So when we decided to throw a birthday party for my mother-in-law, this was the only cake I could think of. This is my first attempt at making it, so I obviously needed the recipe from someone whose cooking sense I could trust i.e: Martha Stewart
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook
For the cake:
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
5 eggs
1 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
For the soaking liquid:
1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk*
1 cup whole milk
*Evaporated milk is milk that has been cooked down to allow more than 50% of its water content to evaporate. Since its not easily available in India you can make your own or use a substitute:
Make your own: Simmer 2 cups of regular milk down to 1 cup to give you one cup of evaporated milk
Substitute: Take some milk powder and reconstitute it using only 40% of the recommended water. You should get a thick cream-like milk consistency.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients i.e. flour and baking powder. In a larger bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well combined. The eggs would turn a pale yellow colour. Add vanilla and mix. Now gradually add the flour mix and fold to combine. Its always a good practise to add the flour in batches, wait for it to mix completely before proceeding to add another batch. Fold in the melted butter until incorporated. Butter a baking dish and transfer the batter to this dish. Bake for 30-40 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Whisk together the milks. With a fork or skewer, poke the warm cake all over. Make sure you make sufficient holes and the luscious milk mixture will seep into the cake through this. Now pour the milk mixture over the top of the cake. Don't panic if the cake is submerged in the milk. It will absorb all that liquid eventually. Set aside and let it cool.
You can serve as it or whip 250ml cream and 1/4cup sugar together. Spread it over the cooled cake. Sprinkle cinnamon or cocoa powder or top with fruits.
P.S: This cake was so good that I could barely save a slice for pictures. Apologies for the terrible pictures. It was a birthday party hence too much clutter in the background
