Tres Leches Cake

[CatheyJ]

I dont usually do much baking but I gave this cake a try Sunday.


Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
7 large eggs, separated
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ( 14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
¾ cup whipping cream
Fluffy frosting ( see below )
Garnish: grated lemon rind

Fluffy Frosting:
6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice ( about ½ lemon)

Directions:
Cake:
1. Beat egg yolks, butter, and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until mixture is creamy.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to egg yolk mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold gently into batter. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13 x 9 ? pan.

4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes.

5. Pierce top of cake several times with a small wooden skewer. Stir together condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream; gradually pour and spread over warm cake. ( pour about ¼ cup at a time, allowing mixture to soak into cake before pouring more) Let stand 2 hours; cover and chill overnight, if desired. Spread top of cake with Fluffy Frosting before serving. Garnish with lemon rind.

Fluffy Frosting:
1. Pour water to a depth of 1 ½ inches into bottom of double boiler over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil. Place egg whites and sugar in top of double boiler. Beat at high speed with an electric mixer 5 to 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour in corn syrup and lemon juice, beating 7 minutes or until spreading consistency.

[frfozo]

Sounds delicious,CatheyJ

[frfozo]

Thanks for this recipe

[shel]

Your posted recipe motivated me to try a piece of Tres Leches last night at a little taqueria in the area. Man, that was good! Neverhad it before. I don't know if the piece I had would be considered "good" Tres Leches, but I sure enjoyed it - there were a few tiny little blobs of milk running out the bottom of the cake. Talk about moist

Shel

[CatheyJ]

Originally Posted by shel

Your posted recipe motivated me to try a piece of Tres Leches last night at a little taqueria in the area. Man, that was good! Neverhad it before. I don't know if the piece I had would be considered "good" Tres Leches, but I sure enjoyed it - there were a few tiny little blobs of milk running out the bottom of the cake. Talk about moist

Shel

Shel,
I had never tried Tres Leches before I made it... Definatley one of my favorites now. I will have to try someones other than my own now.

[shel]

Originally Posted by CatheyJ

I had never tried Tres Leches before I made it... Definatley one of my favorites now. I will have to try someones other than my own now.

There are a few seemingly good recipes to be found on the Food Network site. One is by Alton Brown and the other by Emeril Lagasse. There are a few more as well.

Shel

[CatheyJ]

Originally Posted by shel

There are a few seemingly good recipes to be found on the Food Network site. One is by Alton Brown and the other by Emeril Lagasse. There are a few more as well.

Shel

I meant I need try it at a restaraunt or taqueria. Not many places around here serve Tres Leches as an option.

[shel]

Iwas wondering if that was what you meant. I'll probably never make the cake, but I will look for it and suffer through more samples

Shel

[shel]

Originally Posted by CatheyJ

I meant I need try it at a restaraunt or taqueria. Not many places around here serve Tres Leches as an option.

Hi Cathey,

I've been poking around for Tres Leches recipes and information. Turns out the cake has it's origins in Nicaragua, which was a surprise, and through a convoluted process ended up as being considered Mexican.

Of perhaps more interest to you, since you want to try some store- or restaurant-bought cakes, is this old article from the Houston Chronicle. Maybe some of the sources mentioned are still around and are close enough to you that you can get some more samples. And, if you're interested, I now have compiled a number of recipes for this cake.

Tres Leches becomes a Cinco de Mayo favorite

Kind regards,

Shel