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Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake is a traditional Chilean recipe for a classic three layer egg sponge cake sandwiched with tres leches and decorated with an egg white icing (frosting). The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Chilean version of: Tres Leches Cake.

prep time

120 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

150 minutes

Additional Time:

(+cooling)

Serves:

16

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Milk RecipesBaking RecipesCake RecipesChile Recipes


Ingredients:

For the cake:
8 eggs
300g granulated sugar
120g of plain (all purpose) flour
80g cornflour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

To assemble the cake:
1 tin (354g) of evaporated milk
1 tin (397g) of condensed milk
125ml of whipping cream
1 jar (380g) of dulce de leche

To decorate the cake:
4 egg whites
200g of granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Prepare 3 x 20cm diameter springform cake tins, cut circles of parchment paper and use to cover the bottom of the tins.

Place a pot with 2cm of water on the stove. Bring just to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer.

In a stainless steel bowl, beat the eggs until mixed well (one minute with a balloon whisk). Add the sugar whilst continuing to beat. Now sit the bowl over the pan of simmering water and continue beating until the sugar dissolves (about 3-5 minutes). Remove the bowl from heat then beat the eggs with a mixer at high speed until the mixture reaches the ribbon stage (about 5 minutes).

Combine the flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a sieve and sift 1/3 of the mixture over the batter. Incorporate into the batter by folding in with a spatula. Repeat this process two more times with the remaining batter. Now gently incorporate the melted butter; it is essential to be gentle with the batter because the recipe does not use baking powder.

Divide the resultant batter between the 3 cake tins. I typically the cake tins to make certain they contain the same amount of batter (300 grams each). Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cakes are browned, and when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly. Transfer to a wire rack, allowing the cakes to cool entirely in the tins. At this time, carefully remove from the tins and peel off silicone paper.

For cake assembly, beat all the ingredients except the Dulce de Leche in a bowl with a balloon whisk. (The volume is going to be about 1l.) Place the Dulce de leche in a decorating bag with a flat tip.

Place one cake on the dish that you are going to use to serve the cake. Moisten slowly by the spoonful with ⅓ of the reserved mix of Tres Leches (675ml cup for each cake). Pipe a thin layer of Dulce de leche, over the top. Cover with another cake, moisten and then pipe a layer of Dulce de leche. Finish with another cake and moisten.

In a large pot, place a 5cm depth of water and put on the hob to boil. When boiling, reduce the heat to a minimum. Place the egg whites, sugar and, vanilla (if using) in a metal bowl that can be placed over the pot to form a bain marie, making sure the bowl does not touch the water.

With a balloon whisk, beat all the decorating ingredients. Stir all the time until the sugar dissolves. This is fast, 3-5 minutes. To be sure that the sugar is dissolved, take a little and rub it between your fingers; it should not feel gritty.

Remove from the water bath and, using a mixer, whip at high speed until the meringue is cold (about 10 minutes).

Cover the cake with the meringue, and using a kitchen blowtorch, caramelize the meringue.