Tres Leches Recipe

Tres leches is basically a cake soaked in three milks, it is my all-time favorite dessert. For years I’ve tried to make the perfect tres leches and this recipe is the one!! It’s been extremely difficult to create the perfect sponge cake, obtain a balance of all the three milks, and whip up the perfect meringue to top it off. There was a time when I was in college when I would make one of these cakes every week and at long last, I think I nailed it!

I have been eating tres leches since I can remember. When I was a child, we would go every week to Casa Romeu (a Cuban restaurant in Miami) as our family outing and I would always share a tres leches for dessert with my dad. They would get a fresh batch every Thursday so we made Thursdays our traditional dinner nights at Casa Romeu.

At some point in my childhood, I was told I was allergic to eggs and was not allowed to eat anything with them in it. Let me tell you that the day my parents told me I couldn’t have a tres leches because it had eggs, it must have been one of the most traumatizing events in this chubby child’s life. I even remember the table we were sitting at when this happened. But for some God given miracle, I either outgrew this allergy or I never really had it because I have been eating  these bad boys about every week of my life. 

Since moving to New York, the closest thing I have found to a decent tres leches in the city is the one from Whole Foods. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, WHOLE FOODS! I buy a piece from there every week and especially when I have a string of shifts. I always save them for the toughest shift of the week or I save it for the end of the string and eat  as an “I survived” reward. 

What is the key to the perfect sponge cake? 

The key to making the perfect sponge cake is whipping the eggs and FOLDING the ingredients. It’s the most crucial part. You have to whip the egg whites to the perfect stiff peaks. The next thing is folding the ingredients. You CANNOT mix the ingredients together in a mixer, you have to fold them to avoid knocking out all the air. To fold the ingredients, you are basically getting a spatula and literally folding the egg whites, flour, and egg yolks together. 

What three milks do you add to a tres leches? 

So, this was another difficult part in getting the perfect tres leches. A lot of recipes call for whole milk to be one of the milks you are supposed to use, don’t trust them. A perfect tres leches takes heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweet condensed milk. The ratio that I have in the recipe gives you the perfect flavor. It’s the right amount of sweetness that makes you want another bite. Trust me. 

So, I hope you enjoy it and it brings you enough happiness as the dessert brings to me!

Tres Leches

Delicious sponge cake soaked in three milks, topped with meringue

4.58 from 19 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cuban, Hispanic, Latin

Keyword: Tres Leches, Tres Leches Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cooling time: 4 hours hours

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks room temperature
• 6 egg whites room temperature
• 1 ⅓ cup of sugar divided. So ⅔ x2 cups
• 1 tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup of flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 cups of evaporated milk
• 1 ½ cups of condensed milk
• 3 cups of heavy cream
• 1 bottle of maraschino cherries

Meringue

• 1 cup of sugar
• ½ cup of water
• 4 egg whites room temperature
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F and butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. Set aside.
• Separate your egg whites from your egg yolks and place them in two separate, clean metal or glass bowls.
• Start whisking your egg whites with a mixer on low speed and slowly increase it to medium speed until soft peaks form, about three minutes. Once the soft peaks are formed, slowly add ⅔ cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Continue to mix until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. (you are basically making a meringue) Set aside.
• Add the remaining ⅔ cup of sugar and vanilla to the egg yolks. Whisk the egg yolks until they become a light yellow in color. About three minutes.
• Slowly and gently fold in the stiff egg whites into the egg yolks. DO NOT MIX WITH A MIXER. IF YOU DO YOU CAN KNOCK THE AIR OUT OF THE EGGS.
• Once the egg whites and egg yolks are combined, gently fold in your flour.
• After, pour the mixture into your baking dish.
• Place the baking dish in the oven for 25-30 minutes. You should be able to pierce the center of the dish with a knife and the knife should come out clean.
• After the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it sit for five minutes.
• While the cake is almost out of the oven and cooling, combine the heavy cream, evaporated milk, and condensed milk in a blender and mix until it’s well combined for about one minute.
• After the cake has cooled for five minutes (don’t wait longer), poke plenty of holes on top with a skewer or fork. After, pour your milk mixture on top. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature and then store it in the fridge for 4 hours.

Making your meringue

• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat over high heat and cook until the sugar syrup heats up to 240°F on the candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer it will be to the point where the mixture begins to boil, the sugar has completely dissolved, and the syrup has become clear.
• Meanwhile, separate four egg whites into a clean glass or metal bowl. Add the cream of tartar.
• Start whisking your egg whites with a mixer on low speed and slowly increase it to medium speed until soft peaks form, about two to three minutes.
• Once the soft peaks have formed, slowly add your syrup mixture while continuously whisking your eggs. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.

Assembling your tres leches

• Remove your tres leches from the fridge once it has become cold and all the milk has been absorbed.
• Add your meringue to the top of the cake and decorate with the maraschino cherries
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes

If you want an extremely moist Tres Leches, double the amount of milk to soak it in. 

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