Tres Leches Cake

Updated at: Sun, 30 Jun 2024 02:46:06 GMT

Step 1

Separate the eggs into 2 bowls, one for egg whites and one for egg yolks.

Step 2

Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

Step 4

In the large bowl that you plan on mixing all of the batter in, place all your egg yolks in there along with 2/3 cup of sugar. Using a mixer, beat the egg yolks until a pale yellow color. If you see the grains of the sugar, you are not done. Mix until smooth. Should be around 2 minutes or so of mixing if using a hand mixer.

Step 5

Add milk and vanilla to the egg yolk mixture. Use mixer to combine. Use spatula to scrap sides to make sure you have everything mixed together evenly. The vanilla will turn the pale yellow color a little darker, especially if using vanilla bean paste.

Step 6

In a separate large bowl (Cold bowl), you are going to beat the egg whites into soft peaks. Add the Room Temperature egg whites to the Cold bowl. Highly recommend for this portion, use a stand mixer if you can. Whip at a relatively medium- high setting with a whisk attachment but if not, use a hand mixer (preferably one with some sort of whisk attachment). If using a hand mixer, start off slow and then gradually go to a higher setting. Tip: Any bowl or attachment that can be put in the freezer for a little bit would be great. The cold temperature of the bowl meeting the room temperature of the eggs helps with whipping the egg whites.

Step 7

Once the egg whites get foamy, if you are scared to over beat the egg whites, you have the option to add a 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar or lemon juice (acid helps stabilize the egg whites). It is optional and not needed. I personally use cream of tartar just in case. Add 1/3 cup of sugar (the last of your granulated sugar at this point) to the bowl and continue to beat the egg whites. Mix until soft peaks.

Step 8

In the bowl with the egg yolk mixture, add your flour mixture a little at a time and mix with a whisk until combined. Be gentle. Do not use spatula to mix because the whisk will help keep it nice and fluffy.

Step 9

Once the batter is mixed and smooth, use your spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter a little at a time until it is all folded in and together. Be gentle and patient at this step. You want to keep the batter feeling light and airy.

Step 10

Once your batter is ready, it is time to go in the pan. Do not grease your pan. This is optional but you can put a sheet of parchment paper at the bottom if you would like to remove the cake out of the pan. Otherwise you can just gently spread the batter out into the pan. Aluminum or glass is preferred. I like aluminum so I can just serve it like that and throw away afterwards but it is up to you.

Step 11

Lightly tap the pan to release any air bubbles.

Step 12

Put cake in the center rack of your oven. Make sure nothing else is in there. Bake for 28-35 min at 350 degrees. For a 9x13 inch pan it should be around 28-30 minutes. It will be spongey and soft but use a toothpick to check if it's done. If it comes out clean from the middle, you are good to go.

Step 13

Let Cake cool for 30 min to an hour. If you put parchment paper on the bottom, flip the cake upside down (it should slide right out of the pan) and take the parchment paper off. You can now put it on any serving dish you want before soaking but if you are serving in the pan, just flip it back in. Skip that step if you didn't use parchment paper. When you are ready, poke holes all over the cake with a tooth pick or fork.

Step 14

In a container, mix your evaporated milk, condensed milk, heavy cream, dulce de leche, and vanilla bean paste or extract together with a whisk.

Step 15

When it is smooth and everything is incorporated nicely, pour it all over the cake. You are probably going to use at least 3/4 of the mixture just on the cake alone. I like to save a little bit to pour on top but if you like it more syrupy, feel free to pour it all. If you need to poke more holes. Make sure to pour a lot on the sides since the middle always soaks up the most liquid by default.

Step 16

While the cake is soaking up all the syrupy goodness, it is time to make whip cream. This is also a good job for a standmixer but can be done with a hand mixer just as well. Add your heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to a COLD bowl. Start off mixing low and then go up in speed.

Step 17

Add vanilla to whip cream and continue to whip until you get some firm peaks.

Step 18

Use spatula to cover cake with whipped cream. You can this in piping bags and pipe on if you are feeling extra fancy. Cover the whole cake with the whipped cream.

Step 19

Decorate the top to your heart's content. Everything is optional but I very lightly dusted the top with Cinnadust spice mix (which is like a cinnamon sugar mixture inspired by Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and then added cut strawberries.

Step 20

Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 3-4 hours, ideally overnight, to let everything soak up inside the cake. It will taste best served cold and will stay in the fridge for up to 5 days ( if it even lasts that long).

Step 21

Eat and enjoy!

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