Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake with Candied Pears. Tangie Holifield, 2020.

Tres Leches Cake , also called  Pastel de Tres Leches, literally means, “three milks”  and tres leches cake is an ultra light sponge cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture.  Tres leches cake is a popular cake in Mexico and Latin America.

The cake is similar to an angel food cake. The whipped egg whites in the batter make it extra light and spongy. After baking the cake you poke holes in it with a fork and pour three types of milk over the top–evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream–hence the name “tres leches”.This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.
 

Tres leches may have it’s culinary roots in the Middle Ages in Europe. There is a medieval recipe called sopa dorada (golden soup) where toasted bread is soaked with "sugar, white wine, egg yolks, and water of roses." Think of the European tradition of "soaked" cakes: baked goods drenched in syrups and custards. For example, 18th-century British cookbooks include "hedgehog pudding," which can be described as a sponge cake saturated in sherry, studded with almonds, and served in a moat of custard. There is also a traditional Portuguese recipe also called golden soup: sponge cake soaked in egg cream. Even more in the tradition of European desserts, think of British rum cakes, trifles, fruitcakes, or Italian zuppa inglese and tiramisu as types of soaked cake desserts. And it may e a stretch, but what about bread pudding and even French toast?

Since the colonization of the New World beginning in the 14th Century, the European influence on Latin American cooking is well known. Family recipes in Mexico to bridge the gap from traditional European desserts to modern tres leches.

Roberto Santibanez (currently the culinary director of the Rosa Mexicano restaurants in New York) remembers a dish that his grandmother had made, from the state of Tabasco. Torta de leche (milk cake) is cake batter poured into a pan of sweetened scalded milk, baked, and served floating in its milk sauce. This prompted me to hit the Mexican cookbooks again to seek out similar soaked-cake desserts that might have different names than tres leches.

In The Mexican Gourmet, Maria Dolores Torres Yzabal says that antes (bread soaked in wine and layered with milk custard and fruit or nuts) came to Mexico in the 19th century. New York restaurateur and author Zarela Martínez documents Oaxacan recipes for Sopa Borracha and Ante de Almendra, two soaked cakes. In The Taste of Mexico, Patricia Quintana opines that tres leches comes from Sinaloa, and she provides a colonial-era recipe for Viceroy's Cake: sherry-drenched layers of cake, custard, fruit, and meringue.

Variations of this dessert can be found in Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. There are recipes from restaurants, bakeries, and myriad individuals and home-cooking sites. There are elaborately complicated concoctions from celebrity chefs, as well as no-fuss versions put together with store-bought pound cake and aerosol dairy cream. However, at bottom, they are all recognizably tres leches cake with the same three elements: a cake soaked in a sweet milk mixture and topped with whipped cream or even a meringue.

 Pastel de tres leches surely is descended from a long and respectable tradition of desserts that extends back through colonial Mexican history to medieval Europe. Think of that the next time you take a sweet bite, redolent with condensed milk. leches as lots more than just a rich dessert. It's a little cultural ambassador that crossed Europe, crossed the ocean, and then crossed the border, adapting as it went. A reminder that food, in addition to how good it tastes, is never just food. Now, where's my fork?

Serves 12

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs , separated

1 cup granulated sugar , divided

1/3 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

One 12-ounce can evaporated milk

One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup  heavy cream

For the Whipped Topping:

1 pint heavy whipping cream , for Whipping

3 tablespoons granulated sugar 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ground cinnamon, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 o F.

Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with non-stick vegetable cooking spray.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate the eggs into two separate bowls.

Add 3/4 cup sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks and mix on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Add the 1/3 cup milk and vanilla and stir to combine. 

Pour the egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir gently just until combined (don't over-mix).

Use electric beaters to beat the egg whites on high speed. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar as you mix and continue beating until stiff peaks.

Fold egg whites into the batter gently, just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Make sure to smooth it into an even layer so your baked cake doesn't have divots in it.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow cake to cool completely.

Combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk in a small bowl. Once the cake has cooled use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake. 

Slowly pour the milk mixture over the the top of the cake, making sure to pour near the edges and all around.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour or overnight, to allow it to soak up the milk.

In the meantime, whip the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks. Smooth over the top of the cake. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries, if desired. Enjoy!

Cook’s Notes:

*Depending on your oven and the pan you use, this cake may cook faster!  Keep an eye on it around 25 minutes.

HOW TO STORE TRES LECHES CAKE: Store Tres Leches Cake in the refrigerator after coving it with plastic wrap or a secure lid. It’s best to store this cake for several hours or overnight before serving so that the cake has a chance to soak up the milk mixture. If you have leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

MAKE TRES LECHES CAKE AHEAD OF TIME: Yes, you can make Tres leches cake 1-2 days in advance. In fact, I love to make this cake the night before so that the cake has a chance to soak up some of the milk that was poured over top. You can store it with whipped cream on top as well or wait to top it with whipped cream before serving.