Tres Leches Cake is a popular dessert in Latin America, known for its rich and moist texture. The cake is soaked in a mixture of three kinds of milk, which gives it its name "Tres Leches," meaning "Three Milks" in Spanish.
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Today is a big day for me, because it's my daughter's birthday. Matrona is turning 3 years old. We are blessed parents to have her with us. She is a smart and very playful child who loves her brothers. She keeps us extra busy because she is already participating in ballet and gymnastic classes.
Matrona, just like the rest of my kids, is a good eater and I want to keep it that way so I avoid feeding her really sugary treats and plan to do so for as long as possible.
About Tres Leches Cake
I chose a 3 milks cake for my daughter's 3 years old birthday celebration, because it's not very sweet and has plenty of whipped cream, which is her favorite part of any cake or treat.
Tres Leches is a not overly sweet and is also a very moist cake. Its unique characteristic is being soaked in three types of milk, which gives it that irresistible, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
This vanilla based sponge cake is completely soaked in a traditional milk sauce consisting of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and regular milk. But you may choose any milk. You have some freedom here.
Here are my choices of 3 milks:
Sweetened condensed milk that has been cooked and is called Dulce de leche, which creates a beautiful caramel flavor.
Coconut milk and high fat coconut milk is best here.
Regular whole milk I prefer grass fed organic.
Tell me what is your best combination of milk for Tres Leches Cake? There are so many possibilities with types of milk, toppings and garnish. I would love to know your preferences. Please, leave me a comment.
What do I need to make Tres Leches Cake?
Eggs - large eggs. After breaking, each egg should weigh 50 grams, or use a kitchen scale and make sure you have a total of 400 grams of eggs.
Flour - all purpose, pantry staple ingredient, right?
Sugar - another pantry staple ingredient, my first choice is always raw cane sugar.
Baking powder - can not be substituted with baking soda. Aluminum free is my first choice. If you can't find it, make yourself, it's super easy, see how to do it here.
Milk - regular whole milk.
Dulce de leche - cooked sweetened condensed milk, that you can easily make yourself or buy. See all details below.
Coconut milk - regular and not low fat coconut milk, room temperature. I like this one.
Heavy cream - regular heavy cream with the highest fat content that you can find and containing the least amount of added ingredients. I like this one.
Vanilla - extract or paste would be even better.
Zest of two oranges - this ingredient is optional, but I must say the fragrance of citrus fruit always compliments baked goods.
About Dulce de leche
Dulce de leche is a sweet, caramel-like thick sauce strictly made with only TWO INGREDIENTS: milk & sugar. By slowly heating sweetened condensed milk until it thickens and changes color.
Where to buy Dulce de leche?
Latin American countries have used this product for many, many decades. With its popularity, just about every European grocery store will have it. So, if you have such a store nearby, go and pick some up. It's great to have on hand. Sometimes, I enjoy treating my boys after school with a snack of sliced green apples and Dulce de Leche dip. Yummy!
How to make Dulce de leche at home?
There are many ways to do it: Here are several options for you:
Place one can or a few cans of sweetened condensed milk in a pot and fill it with water and turn the stove on low heat and boil for 2 and half hours or use a crock pot (which I prefer) and set on low and cook for 8 hours or leave overnight. Let it cool and store at room temperature just like any canned food. Add to many desserts or eat as it is. To serve, first warm it up a little bit in order to achieve a nice consistent drizzle.
Or pour open a can with sweetened condensed milk into a sauce pan, and cook slowly on very low heat, stirring and watching closely until the mixture reaches a brown, caramel-like color.
Or use a microwave for cooking. Use 50 percent power and cook for 10-15 minutes, watch closely. Stir every once in a while.
Making dulce de leche at home from SCRATCH is possible too and quite a simple process. Here's a basic recipe using the stovetop method:
4 cups of whole milk
1 ¼ cups of sugar
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk and sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has completely dissolved, and the mixture begins to steam. Be careful not to let it boil too quickly. Continue to cook for 1.5 hours, stirring frequently. The mixture will gradually thicken and turn a rich, golden-brown caramel-like color. As it thickens, you may need to stir more often to prevent burning.
Recipes with Dulce de leche
Let's do it...
Prep time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Making time: 20 minutes
Total time: 65 minutes
Author: Inna of innichkachef.com
Serves: 8-12 people
Ingredients for the sponge cake:
8 large eggs, room temperature (400 grams)
1 & 1/4 cups raw cane sugar (240 grams)
2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
2 teaspoons of aluminum free baking powder (check out how to do yourself)
Zest of 2 oranges (optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ingredients for the 3 milks mixture:
3/4 cup whole milk (200 ml)
Half a can of coconut milk (200 ml)
1 can Dulce De Leche (300ml) (see notes above)
Ingredients for the topping:
4 cups cold heavy cream (900 ml)
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Berries, toasted coconut for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon of honey or apricot preserves for the glaze (optional)
Directions
Turn on the oven to 330F.
To prepare baking dish: Grease with olive oil or melted butter the walls and bottoms of 2 springform 9 inch pans. Place baking paper on the bottom of each pan.
To prepare the cake: In an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk room temperature eggs and sugar until very pale and foamy. Add orange zest and vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
Then very GENTLY fold flour mixture into the egg batter in three additions, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Use a spatula and work slowly trying to preserve all the egg foam. (See video for this step).
Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the 2 prepared springform pans 9 inches and spread it evenly.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
Move onto a cooling rack and remove baking paper from the bottoms.
To prepare the mixture to soak the cake: In a heavy bottomed saucepan or small Dutch oven, add all 3 milks (regular milk, half of the can of coconut milk, (don't forget to stir it first) and one can of Dulce De Leche. Stir all together and cook until all 3 milks become one mixture with a nice brownish color and coconut caramel flavor.
In the same electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the vanilla until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
To assemble the cake: Use a cake ring and a cake collar. Place the first layer of sponge-cake in the ring and collar. Now poke holes with a wooden skewer stick and slowly using a spoon pour the milk mixture over the cake, making sure it soaks in evenly.
Spread the whipped cream nicely and evenly over the first layer. Sprinkle it with toasted coconut (this is optional). Now place the other sponge-cake layer on top and poke holes with a stick just like the first layer. Repeat spooning on the milk mixture filling in the holes so it soaks evenly.
Spread the whipped cream nicely and evenly over the second layer. Sprinkle the top with toasted coconut and garnish with berries. To make berries shiny, brush them with honey or warm apricot preserves.
Place assembled cake for at least 1-2 hours into the fridge.
Serve: Remove the cake ring and cake collar, slice and ENJOY!
Notes:
Tres Leches Cake is a delightful dessert that’s perfect for special occasions or a sweet treat after dinner! However, most likely you will end up with left over 3 milks mixture, which can be used as creamer for your morning coffee, or can be freeze into a popsicles or ice cream. Yummy!
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