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Monday, October 10, 2011

Tres Leches Cake

It's a pretty well known fact we're not much of a dessert kind of "foodie couple." For special occasions we'll order dessert out or if we have a hankering for something...but most often our dessert making occurs because of either a Supper Club or Gutsy Cooks assignment.

But this dessert was the exception. T has been reading a bit about Tres Leches cake lately in our many food related medias and it sparked a curiosity to be made. It just looked and sounded delicious so we had to find out. In Mexico we rarely, if ever that we can remember, order dessert. The desserts usually look and are described as way overly sweet for our tastes. And since we spend 75% of our time by the pool or beach while we are there dessert really doesn't fit into the game plan.

 We had spent the afternoon over on the East side shopping in both the Mexican & Asian markets stocking up some needed stables.The Mexican market had a small bakery area with some beautifully decorated Tres Leches cakes ready for purchase. We could of went that route to check it out but T decided to brave up again to the cake making challenge.


Tres Leches translates to 3 milks. And three milks it has.We went with the recipe from the Food Network's Mexican Made Easy Star Marcella Valladolid, who happens to look all of 18 years old, but hey her food always looks pretty amazing so how old she isn't all that relevant.

After measuring and mixing the dry ingredients for the cake we mixed the eggs and sugar and eventually added all of the ingredients to the mixer.

The batter was very dense and sweet. It baked in the oven for 30 minutes, well actually it called to be cooked 30 minutes but because we used a smaller pan than the recipe called for the thickness required another 10 minutes in the oven.

We let it cool about 15 minutes. While it cooled T mixed the 3 milks and some orange liqueur. The mixture smelled divine.

Next we turned the cake out onto a platter and poked it all over with a wooden skewer.

We never had so much fun making a cake before.

It was time to start pouring the milk mixture into the cake. We weren't sure how well this would work but we poured slowly and did it portion by portion...

allowing the milk to soak up before adding more.

And it worked slowly the cake absorbed all of the milk.

It was time to put in the fridge for a few hours.

After about 3 hours it was time to frost it. Usually G is our resident whipped cream "whipper" but he was in the shower and T was ready so she pulled it off on her own this time, not before thinking her arm might fall off, but it turned out pretty good even without G's serious "guns" power.

Marcella explained that a true Mexican Tres Leches cake always has peaks so we worked to create those peaks on the frosting.

Next we sprinkled it with a bit of cinnamon. We should of used her tip to use a double sieve to do the sprinkling to keep it to more of a dusting. We obviously skipped that step.

We added a some fresh raspberries and blackberries to give it bit of color too.

We had invited our friends J&J over to enjoy some dessert and wine since we hadn't gotten together in what felt like ever. And they are both dessert lovers.

We all loved the cake it was so creamy, rich and wonderful. Almost like a pudding.
We sent them home with a few pieces and we put the rest back in the fridge.

In the morning we decided to have Tres Leches for breakfast with our coffee & chai.Over night the milk had definitely soaked in and created very creamy texture.


It was very good the next day too but so sweet and rich. Definitely a great special treat to have.

Tres Leches Cake

Marcela ValladolidShow: Mexican Made EasyEpisode: Dulce DelightsIngredients

Nonstick cooking spray, for the cake pan

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the cake pan
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream, divided
  • 3 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray and flour a 10-inch cake pan with 2-inch high sides and then line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.

Mix the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Beat in the yolks, 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the whole milk in 2 additions.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool the cake slightly, about 10 minutes, then invert onto a platter with 1-inch high sides.

Pierce the top of the cake all over with a thick skewer. Mix the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, 1 cup heavy cream and orange liqueur in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture over the cake while warm. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours or overnight.

Combine the remaining 1 cup heavy cream and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream onto top of the cake and sprinkle with the ground cinnamon.




3 comments:

  1. Guys.. if I knew.. I would have directed you to my own Tres Leche version.. out of all the cakes I do, this one is my signature cake, the one that is made for the family's special occasions and requested by all. If you are interested in a different version it's posted on the blog. Unlike most recipes out there..mine is not to sweet and it gets better and better the next day.... next time try it...

    Regarles, your version sounds good.... :)

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  2. Guys, this looks DIVINE!! I think I'll give it a try this week-end! Thanks for sharing! Hope all is well with you both! Any return visits to KU in the future?? Take care! Laura

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  3. Thanks Laura, definitely worth making. No KU plans in near future. Take care...tell all hi from us.

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