My husband is from Mexico, and there is nothing he loves more than a good Tres Leches cake. If you haven't brushed up on your spanish lately, Tres is the number 3 and Leche is milk. So it is essentially a 3 milk cake. The cake is a basic sponge cake, but its the 3 milk syrup that makes this cake divine!
My father in law was so excited to eat this at the family party yesterday, he could hardly stand the wait, and was chanting "I want cake, I want cake!" while we were getting everything ready. :-) After the first bite he was shocked and surprised by what is little whitey DIL could pull off! :-)
This recipe came from my cousin Rachel, who also married a man of latin decent. She is photographer, prepper, chicken owner, and a cake baker extraordinaire! Theres nothing this girl can't do. If you are in Idaho, check out her site: PortraitsbyRachel.com
(I have to admit though, I cheated and took shortcuts all the way through it, and my cake Still came out! See her tips at the bottom for a perfect cake.)
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease and flour your pan(s) (this will fit in two 9 inch pans or an 11x13, or even a bundt pan works nicely-- I doubled the recipe and put it in a 1/4 sheet cake pan, 11 x 16).
Sponge Cake for Tres Leches
1c. Sugar
5 lg. Eggs, separated
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 c. flour
Beat 3/4c. sugar and egg yolks until light & fluffy (I used my Bosch with the wire beaters)
Pour Mixture into a separate Mixing bowl and rinse your Bosch.
FOLD milk, vanilla and flour into yolk mixture. (Be gentle- it doesn’t need to be mixed perfectly, just sort of integrated)
Beat egg whites in the Bosch (or other stand mixer) until soft peaks form.
Add leftover sugar and beat until glossy and firm.
FOLD egg whites into mixture.
*Bake 30-45 minutes until firm (Depending on your pan sizes, baking time might be different. You could check it at 20 minutes to be sure. Test with a cake tester or think sharp knife and see if it comes out clean, and the cake begins to pull away from the sides.)
Milk Syrup
12 oz. Evaporated milk
1c. sweetened condensed milk
1c. heavy or whipped cream
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
(Mix all ingredients together well. I used a blender for ease of mixing and pouring.)
Cool completely and pierced liberally with fork. You can dump the cake out and cool it on a baking rack if you want, and then put it back in the pan for the milk syrup part.
When cooled and pierced, pour syrup over cake. Pour in small amounts, waiting for liquid to absorb. The first photo below is after pouring most of the syrup over the cake. The second photo is after the syrup has soaked in. You can keep any extra in the fridge.
Some tips from my cousin Rachel:
"Yeah, it’s a sponge cake. It waits for no one. Have EVERYTHING ready. The key to getting this to rise well is to be quick, but gentle- especially with the eggs- they are your leavening. Have your pan and oven ready. Room temp ingredients work nicely. You can run the eggs under hot water in a bowl in your sink for 3 minutes or so- that should get them warmed up but not cooked! You can also beat the whites over a bowl of warm (not hot) water. Milk can go in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to slightly warm to room temp. I would also sift that cup of flour in. Take pictures! "
I just had to include some of these fun shots from the last time we made this cake. Dad's Birthday! My little helper was thrilled about her accomplishment, and the look on dad's face says it all!
Heres a closeup of the cake:
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