Sunday, April 5, 2009 Week 4

Palm Sunday

Tres Leches
Three Milks cake

My trainer Kayleigh suggested this traditional mexican three milk cake. It has evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream in it. Below is a recipe from the internet:

Tres Leches Cake Recipe
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
4 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 - 13 ounce can evaporated milk
3 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Fresh mangoes, strawberries, blackberries, or other fresh fruit, sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 by 3 inch springform pan with a vegetable spray like Pam.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium size bowl.
Use a kitchenaid mixer for this recipe or any stand mixer will do. Mix the eggs and sugar in the mixer bowl and beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until the volume has doubled. Reduce the speed to low and add one teaspoon vanilla and water. Mix well.
Gently fold the flour ingredients into the egg mixture. Use the mixer on the slowest setting or fold the flour in with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. I placed the cake in the center of my oven and it took closer to 45 minutes.
You can tell when it's done when the center is firm and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Cool the cake on a rack for 15 minutes. Place a plate over the cake and turn upside down.
Release the springform pan. The bottom may stick a bit so use a knife to cut along and release the cake.
Place your hand over what is now the bottom of the cake and turn the cake over onto your hand. Gently place the cake right side up onto a serving dish.
Serving It Up
Make sure to serve the tres leches cake on a platter that has a lip to hold in the milk.

Set the cake aside to cool completely. Use a serrated knife to slice and/or peel off the top skin of the cake. You can toss this part away or if you will probably want to see how it tastes.
When the cake is cool, whisk together in a bowl the evaporated milk, the condensed milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla.
Using a long tooth pick, ice pick or whatever you have available, poke holes all over the cake. The holes will allow the cake to absorb more of the milk.
Pour or spoon the milk mixture slowly all over the cake and allow it time to soak in before adding more milk. Refrigerate.
When you are ready to serve the cake, place the 2 cups whipping cream in a chilled mixing bowl and begin mixing on medium. Add one teaspoon vanilla and the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat on high until stiff peaks form.
Spread whipping cream generously on the top of cake. Garnish with sliced strawberries or blackberries.
Be sure to refrigerate leftovers, if there are any.


Two people in the family liked this cake enough to have the left-overs every day until it was gone. Others didn't like it so much. Very rich and milky sweet.