Tres Leches Cake (Three Milks Cake)
Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban
by Glenn M. Lindgren, Raul Musibay and Jorge Castillo

It gets its name from the three milks - sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream - that are soaked into the cake, making it the moistest and most delicious cake you’ve ever had. It’s really a Nicaraguan dessert.

Servings: 12

CAKE:

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 large eggs, separated

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

SYRUP:

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (14-ounce) can evaporated milk

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons light rum 

FROSTING:

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. To prepare the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Beat the whites until very foamy and frothy. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. As you continue mixing, slowly add the milk. Then add the flour mixture, a little at a time, until all the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Finally, use a spatula to gently fold in the beaten egg whites until completely mixed.

4. Pour batter into the baking dish. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Now it’s time to get fancy. Invert the cake onto a jelly roll pan or a baking tray with a raised edge on it— something to catch the syrup! Use a fork to repeatedly pierce the top of the cake.

5. For the milk syrup, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and rum in a mixing bowl, until well blended. Slowly pour syrup over the cake a little at a time and let it soak in. Be patient! Use your fork to help it along a bit, piercing here and there through the syrup until most of the milk syrup is absorbed. Don’t worry if there is still a pool of syrup around the bottom of the cake, it will gradually soak in.

6. Cover the syrup-drenched cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least

7. 3 hours before frosting.

8. For the frosting, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks. Set aside. In a separate pan, mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer reads 230 degrees F. Remove from heat. While beating the egg whites with an electric mixer, pour the hot syrup into the egg whites all at once; continue beating for about 5 minutes. With the addition of the hot syrup, your frosting should “puff up” and thicken. Let the frosting cool at room temperature. Use a wet spatula to spread a thick layer of the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.

9. To serve, cut individual squares, top with a red maraschino cherry, and serve cold.

VARIATIONS:

Banana Tres Leches Cake
Add 1/3 cup banana liqueur to the milk syrup, omit rum, and reduce the evaporated milk to 3/4 can.

Cuatro Leches Cake
Many Miami restaurants now serve a Cuatro Leches Cake. This is the basic Tres Leches Cake with a topping of Dulce de Leche (caramel sauce). If you want to serve this, follow recipe instructions above. Serve the cake in a bowl or round sundae dish. Add a layer of Dulce de Leche (Caramel Sauce) around the sides of the cake in the bowl. Dulce de Leche sauce can be purchased from gourmet stores.