Tres Leches Cake
This recipe was originally from a friend of mine, but I made some minor adjustments. This cake is so yummy!
This recipe was originally from a friend of mine, but I made some minor adjustments. This cake is so yummy!
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup half & half
- 4 eggs separate white and yolks
- 1 cup all-purpose flour sifted
- 4 tbsp ice water
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- cherry or strawberry pieces fresh or canned (drained), optional
- whipped cream canned, tub (thawed) or fresh
- Carbohydrate 71.4547483573176 g
- Cholesterol 36.3715 mg
- Fat 9.98526250019312 g
- Fiber 0.442291674917607 g
- Protein 9.76613083528165 g
- Saturated Fat 6.19239850003066 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (208g)
- Sodium 1166.09199861812 mg
- Sugar 71.0124566824 g
- Trans Fat 0.558072500063711 g
- Calories 404 calories
Step-by-step
- Beat egg whites until they peak.
- Add yellows one by one.
- Add sugar slowly.
- Lower speed of mixer to minimum speed and add flour and baking powder spoonful by spoonful.
- Finally add the ice water in the same way.
- Pour into greased and floured pan 9 x 13 inches.
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until almost golden.
- Test with toothpick.
- Mix the 2 milks and cream and pour carefully over the top of the cake while it is still warm.
- It make look like there's a lot of milk.
- It's okay for some milk to sit on the top of the cake (the cake will absorb it), but be sure that the cake isn't swimming in milk!
- Store in refrigerator.
- Add whipped cream and fruit before serving.
- You can also slice the cake and add the whipped cream & fruit right before serving.
- I prefer to use the canned whipped cream.
Counter space becomes a primary bottleneck when beating four eggs to stiff peaks while juggling heavy mixing bowls and a stand mixer. A hand mixer paired with a deep metal bowl prevents splattering and provides better control over the incorporation of air. Accurate aeration relies entirely on clean equipment, meaning any residual fat on the beaters will prevent the whites from achieving structural integrity.
Sifting the cup of all-purpose flour removes lumps that would otherwise deflate the delicate foam structure built by the eggs. Folding the flour and baking powder gently at minimum speed maintains the trapped air necessary for the sponge to rise properly during the twenty-five-minute bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pouring the batter into a standard 9x13-inch pan ensures an even depth that maximizes surface area for the subsequent liquid absorption.
Combining evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and half-and-half creates a rich dairy blend that requires careful distribution over the warm sponge. Pouring the liquid slowly allows the crumb to drink up the moisture without dissolving into pudding, while excess pooling indicates saturation limits have been reached. Chilling the soaked cake for at least two hours firms the structure and allows the three milks to fully penetrate the interior.
Proportions scale downward easily for smaller households by reducing each component by half while maintaining the same baking vessel footprint. Doubling the quantities requires transitioning to a larger half-sheet pan to prevent the batter layer from becoming too thick to bake evenly. Storage in the refrigerator keeps the dairy-laden crumb safe for up to three days before the texture begins to degrade.
