Tres Leches Cake - Mystery Solved
By Dorothy Sibole
With something as delicious
and easy-to-make as
Tres Leches Cake, you'd think
I would have long experience
with it, but that's not the
case.
As a dessert chef, the world
of sweets is familiar territory,
so my lack of knowledge about
this cake added to the intrigue.
I decided to explore the history
of Tres Leches Cake -- commonplace
to some, and foreign to others.
I first heard of this dessert
from a baker who has been baking
here in Austin for about fifty
years. He didn't really describe
it, but just gave me a slice to
try. I am always willing to try
a new dessert, but milk cake?
It looked fairly ordinary.
A dense, moist cake topped with
a cloud of vanilla whipped cream.
Let me just say that I was impressed.
I could have eaten a whole cake.
It was amazingly light, very moist
and sweet, but not overly so.
Calorie wise, it's not light by any
stretch of the imagination, being
loaded with milk, fat and sugar.
But with the proper portion size,
it is a most pleasant way to finish
a fine Texas meal with a cup of coffee.
So what is this cake?
Pastel de Tres Leches is a butter
cake sometimes flavored with vanilla.
What makes it unusual is that it is
soaked in a mixture of three different
milk products, hence the name Tres
Leches.
The three milks, when combined, create
just the right sweetness, density and
"mouth feel" for a rich cake, making
it moist but not mushy.
The idea of soaking a cake in liquid
is not new.
There are some traditional cakes
that require a good bath in some
flavoring.
You know them as a Baba or a Savarin,
and the Christmas favorite, Rum cake.
These cakes get their traditional
flavoring from being doused with an
alcohol mixture.
Many layer cake recipes advise you to
brush your cake layers with a simple
syrup solution to moisten the cake.
The Pastel de Tres Leches takes this
one step further, adding richness to
the soaking liquid.
So how did the Tres Leches come about?
It is hard to pinpoint the origin of
the confection. There is dispute over
where it came from. There is dispute
over when it was first created.
There is even dispute over what variation
is the correct version of Pastel de Tres
Leches. After much mind-numbing
investigation,
I drew two definite conclusions.
One is that this cake is very popular
in Latin America, especially Mexico and
Nicaragua.
The second is that it is soaked in
a mixture of three different types
of milk: evaporated milk, sweetened
condensed milk, and whole milk or
heavy cream.
Going on the assumption that sweetened
condensed milk has not been around
for a long time, I was trying to narrow
down the potential timeframe for the
introduction of the recipe.
Lo and behold, my theory was blown out
of the water.
It appears that sweetened condensed
milk has been around since the 1800's.
The product was originally created to
preserve fresh milk.
That being the case, I gave up on trying
to determine when the cake was created.
While the facts of its origin may be
elusive, the fact of its popularity
is not.
One thing I particularly like about
this cake is that it's a simple and
flexible recipe to experiment with.
It doesn't require high baking
chemistry to work out well, so the
exact proportions are not too
critical in the milk mixture. Also,
it's a neutral flavor that accepts
a little flair very readily.
What could you top such a cake with?
How about topping it with cajeta,
a caramel sauce made from goat's
milk and sugar, for a truly decadent
experience?
Or, a simple meringue, commonly used
as frosting in recipes from Mexico.
Also, nuts, fruits or other tasty
ingredients can be added to the batter,
and used atop the frosting, as well.
There are any number of ways to add
subtle distinction to your Tres Leches
cake. Substituting sweetened coconut
milk for the condensed milk, and an
added sprinkle of toasted coconut or
fresh shaved coconut will lend
a tropical flair.
Also, any variety of complimentary
liquors can be added to the rich milk
soaking mixture.
Some recipes call for � cup of rum or
brandy. Flavored liquors like Kahlua
or Irish Cream will work nicely.
And fruit or nut flavor extracts or
liqueurs will enhance the milk mix, too.
I have experimented with this cake, and
my recipe has one variant to the original.
I add a liqueur to three milks.
1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1/2 cup Unsalted butter
2 cups White sugar (divided)
5 Eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract (divided)
1 cup Milk
1/2 of a 14-ounce can Sweetened condensed milk
1/2 of a 12-ounce can Evaporated milk
1/3 cup Liqueur, Frangelico, Brandy or
Chambord, for example (optional)
1 1/2 cups Heavy (whipping) cream
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Sift flour and baking powder together and
set aside.
Cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar
together until fluffy.
Add the eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla.
Beat well.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture,
2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well until
blended.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
When cake has finished baking, pierce
it in 8 or 10 places with a fork or
skewer, and let it cool.
Combine the whole milk, evaporated
milk, condensed milk and liqueur and
pour over the top of the cooled cake.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
~~~ Whipped Cream Topping:
When ready to serve, combine the whipping
cream and the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla
and 1 cup of sugar, whipping until thick.
Spread over top of cake.
Because of the milk in the cake, it
is very important that you keep the
cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
Serve chilled.
Variations
Caribbean Version:
Replace the sweetened condensed
milk with � cup of Coco Lopez
Cream of Coconut in the milk mixture.
You can also add 1/4 cup rum.
Southern Version:
In addition to the three milks, add
1/3 cup peach schnapps.
You can add 1/2 cup of diced, drained
peaches to the batter.
About 1/4 cup of pecans can be added
to the batter or sprinkled on top of
the cake before serving.
Now, if you like cherries, blueberries,
raspberries or apples, you can add them
to this cake much in the same way.
Well, what about chocolate?
Why not add some chocolate syrup to the
three-milk mixture, or temper in some
white chocolate?
This is another one of those great recipes
that allows for culinary adventure.
Plus, it is just plain delicious.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dorothy Sibole is a pastry chef living in Austin, Texas.
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