Tres Leches Cake for Cinco de Mayo

Dessert / By

My friend (also my Italian language teacher) had a Cinco de Mayo party.  I wanted to bring a dessert but I am not that familiar with Mexican desserts besides flan which I did not want to make.  After a little google searching I found out about tres leches cake which is cake soaked in three types of milk overnight (hence the “tres leches”).  I never had it before, but it seemed fairly easy.  I opted to use Alton Brown’s recipe as it seemed the easiest.

I was VERY worried that the cake was going to end up a soggy, inedible mess.  It was actually quite good!  It’s definitely not a “normal” cake.  It is really moist and the bottom of the pan had some leftover liquid.  My mom, who loves cake even more than me, said this may be her new favorite!

Not the best angle, but it’s the only pic I took
All ingredients (except this pic doesn’t include the vegetable oil used for oiling and flouring the baking dish)
Butter
Butter and sugar, after whipped

 

Finished batter

 

Batter in oiled/floured baking dish

 

Finished cake (I took out at around 195 degrees).  After it cooled I poked holes all over it with a skewer.
Milk mixture
Update: the first time I made this, the cake took a really long time to absorb the milk.  Even the next morning there was still visible milk on top and around the sides.  The second time I made this I poked a LOT of holes with the dull side of some bamboo skewers, and the milk seemed to absorb almost immediately.
 
The next morning…all the milk totally soaked in.
Here is the finished product.  I made the whipped cream but used only about 1/2 cup of sugar.  (You can always start with a little sugar and then gradually add more until it’s to your liking).  I added some raspberries for color.



Ingredients:

For the cake:

  • Vegetable oil
  • 6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 8 ounces sugar
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:

  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup half-and-half

For the topping:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 8 ounces sugar (Note: I only used 4 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Decrease the speed to low, and gradually pour in the sugar.  Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup. Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.