When I saw the Milk BSI announcement on Sana's blog, I knew I had to send in this lovely cake! So I dug it out and reposted it just for this purpose. So Sanyukta… here's to you!
I made Pioneer Woman’s (Isn’t she the best!) Tres Leches Cake for my husband’s birthday last month and I have to say… this has to be one of the best things I’ve ever made. It tasted awesome and R loved it! I followed the recipe almost to a T, and it came out beautifully.
My first taste of the famed Latin dessert ‘Pastel de Tres Leches’ was at The Farmers Market in LA after our regular Sunday brunch. One day, as I was in Milk, I spied a Tres Leches cake on the counter staring me in the face. It clearly spoke to me and said, “Eat me”. Yes, I know I need help when I feel like food talks to me but that’s another story…
This almost reminds me of an Indian dessert called Rasamalai that’s also soaked in flavored milk.
The best part about this cake is how easy it is to make it. So go ahead and try it, I guarantee a new favorite in your repertoire! So here’s the recipe and yes, it’s the same recipe as PW’s except for a few minor modifications.
PS: I know the pics aren't the greatest but please don't let that stop you from trying out the cake!
There it is! Waiting for the birthday boy..er man!
Ok, so my icing skills aren't on display but I had 10 minutes to get it all done before R showed up! And yes, the candles are supposed to shaped like numbers... only I got confused and overshot my poor husband's age by a year! :P
Pastel de Tres Leches
What you need:
Cake:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
5 Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
⅓ cups Milk
Soaking Liquid: (These are the original measurements but I recommend doubling them)
1 can Evaporated Milk (Unsweetened condensed milk)
1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
¼ cup Heavy Cream
Icing:
1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
3 tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Getting down to business:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Keep aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and keep aside. Separate eggs in another bowl.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Pour the egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until just combined. Do not over mix the batter.
Beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold the egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Ensure the surface is even.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake remain in the pan for a few minutes. Then turn the cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to it cool before icing.
Soaking Liquid:
Combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a bowl. Reserve one cup of this liquid separately. When cake has cooled, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle the soaking liquid evenly all over the cake (except for the one cup you’ve reserved separately).
Try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for at least an hour.
Icing:
Pour in the heavy cream along with the sugar and vanilla until it forms whipped cream. Spread over the surface of the cake, using a flat spatula.
(I iced the cake using a pastry bag. If you do choose to ice your cake rather than spreading the icing on the cake, ensure you keep the whipped cream cool by placing the bowl on ice. )
Garnish:
I’ve seen this cake topped with everything from vanilla beans to nothing! I chose to dust on some cocoa powder very lightly as to keep the cake ‘masculine’ as possible! I do like PW’s idea of topping the cake with cherries… the contrast is very pretty.
To Serve:
Serve each piece of the cake with a little extra of the soaking liquid.
Notes:
I doubled the recipe for the soaking liquid to have some extra on hand to pour around the cake when I serve it. This turned out to be a good thing as the cake absorbed all the liquid I had poured on it earlier.
Modified from Pioneer Woman’s Tres Leches Cake.
