Tres Leches Cake From Cafe Central, El Paso Nicaraguan Tres Leches Cake
Tres Leches Cake From Cafe Central, El Paso
Cake 9 eggs (room temperature)
11/2cups sugar 12 tablespoons butter (softened) 2 cups all-purpose flour
12/2teaspoons baking powder 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate egg yolks and whites, keeping whites at room temperature. In
bowl of an electric mixer, cream sugar and butter together until pale yellow and fluffy. Add egg
yolks and beat until fluffy again, 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high speed. In a separate bowl combine
flour and baking powder. In a third bowl mix milk and vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture and
the milk mixture to the butter mixture (a fourth at a time) until all are combined. Beat until
smooth after each addition.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form and, using a large spatula, gently but
thoroughly fold into flour-and-butter mixture. Grease bottom of a 9- by 13-inch metal baking pan.
Pour in batter and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool. (May also
be baked in an 11.5- by 17.5-inch sheet pan for 20 minutes; this size rises very evenly, helpful for
inexperienced cooks.)
Three Milks 2 cups heavy cream 1 five-ounce can (5/8cup) evaporated milk 1 fourteen-ounce can
(7/8cup) sweetened condensed milk
Stir the milks together thoroughly; do not beat. Do not refrigerate canned milks before using.
Cream Icing 2 cups heavy cream
13/3cup sugar
Whip cream and sugar together until stiff. When cake is cool, slice or peel off the thin top crust.
Ice sides first, creating a small lip on top to catch milk mixture. Pour milk mixture evenly over
top of cake (if necessary, poke holes in cake with a knife or toothpick to facilitate soaking; you
will probably need only 3/4of mixture). Finish icing top. Refrigerate. (If using an 11.5- by 17.5-
inch pan, cut cake in half to make 2 equal pieces. Soak first layer, ice top if desired, and place
second layer on top of it. Proceed as above.) Serves 12.
Nicaraguan Tres Leches Cake
Yield: 6 - 8 Servings
Cake: 9 egg whites 2 cup Sugar 9 Egg yolks 1 tsp Vanilla
14/2 cup Milk 2 cup All-purpose flour 1 Tbsp Baking powder
Filling: 3 Egg yolks 1 12 ounce can evaporated Milk 1 14-oz can sweetenedCondensed milk 1 pt Heavy
cream 1 tsp Vanilla 1 Tbsp Amaretto Liqueur (optional)
Meringue:
15/2 cup Water 1 cup Light corn syrup 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 Egg whites
FOR CAKE: Beat egg whites until stiff; set aside. Beat the sugar and egg yolks until light, about 3
minutes. Add vanilla and milk, then beat in flour and finally the baking powder. Fold egg whites
into the batter and pour into a generously greased 9-by 13-inch pan. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350
degrees, or until cake will spring back in center when touched. Let cool. (It's OK if cake falls
somewhat at this point.)
FOR FILLING: Beat the three egg yolks for 1 minute at high speed with an electric mixer. Add the
three kinds of milk - evaporated, condensed and cream - and the vanilla and liqueur, and beat
thoroughly. When the cake has cooled, unmold it onto a dish. Pierce the cake as thoroughly as
possible with a fork. Slowly pour the filling mixture onto the cake, allowing it to soak in without
running over the sides.
FOR THE MERINGUE: Mix water, corn syrup and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over
medium high heat. Cook until mixture reaches 227 degrees on a thermometer, or will spin a thread
when drizzled from a spoon ( about 30 minutes). Beat egg whites until very stiff. Slowly beat syrup
into egg whites, whisking constantly while pouring syrup in a steady stream. Allow to cool slightly,
then spread on top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake at least two hours; it should be served very
cold. Because the cake is very rich, it can serve 20.
A FEW NOTES: Because the cream in Nicaragua is thicker and slightly more acidic than the ultra-
pasteurized heavy cream sold in this country, to make the cake more authentic use 1 cup of sour
cream and 1 cup of heavy cream for the pint of cream specified in the recipe. Commercial marshmallow
cream can be used instead of the meringue. Also, instead of unmolding the cake I have baked it in a
glass pan and left it in there. I pierce it and pour the filling over it right in the pan and
refrigerate. When I'm ready to serve it, I put on the meringue. I find it is easier to fill, store
and the glass pan keeps the cake and filling ( which still resembles a heavy milk) very cold.
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