Triple Layer Tres Leches Cake

It’s official. I am now in my late 20’s. It’s probably not that monumental but I should probably be out of my quarter life crisis and have my shit together. Sometimes this is the case and often times, it’s not.

Anyways, one of my favorite desserts is tres leches. So I decided to amp it up and add my own twist. I present to you a triple layer tres leches birthday cake. Ta-Da!

The only challenge that I encountered was having not much leakage from the bottom. I ended up frosting the whole cake so that the syrup from the cake is not spilling everywhere.

Cake:

Ingredients

– 7 eggs, separated

– 1 1/4 cup sugar + 1/3 cup sugar

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 1/2 cup flour

-2 1/4 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp vanilla

-1/2 cup whole milk

-2 cups stawberries, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and 1 1/4 cup of sugar. Once the egg mixture is pale yellow, stir in the milk and vanilla.
3. Pour flour, baking powder, and salt into the egg mixture and stir until combined
4. In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites until foamy. Slowly pour the 1/3 cup of sugar while whisking the egg whites. Whisk the eggs till they form stiff peaks.
5. Using the bowl with the egg yolk mixture, carefully fold in the egg whites. Make sure you don’t over mix it because the cake will come out flat and not as spongy/fluffy.
6. Once mixed, pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.
7. When it’s done baking, place it to the side and let cool.
8. Once it is cooled, poke holes into the cake and pour the milk syrup and let it sit overnight in the fridge. (Please see the syrup recipe below)
9. After the cake has soaked overnight, it is time for assemble. See below for assembling instructions.

Syrup:

Ingredients

-1 can of condensed milk

-1 can of evaporated milk

-1 cup of 2% milk

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and set aside. This syrup will come in handy for step 8 in making the cake.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

Ingredients

– 1 1/2 cup heavy cream

– 6 tablespoons of powder sugar

– 1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk powder

– 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients.

2. For 3-5 min, mix the ingredients in the food processor until the consistency is thick and holds its shape.

3. Set aside and refrigerate.

This has to be the best whipped cream frosting that I’ve ever made. Thanks to this lady’s recipe, it held the cake up pretty well throughout the day.

Milk Crumble:

(Note: I used the Momofuku Milk Bar recipe for the Milk Crumble)

-1/2 cup milk powder

-1/4 cup flour

-2 tablespoons cornstarch

-2 tablespoons sugar

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-4 tablespoons butter, melted

-1/4 cup milk powder

-3 ounces white chocolate, melted

1. Heat oven to 250 Degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine the milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
3. Add melted butter and toss, with spatula, until the mixture starts to form clusters
4. Place and spread the mixture on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool.
5. Once cooled, place the mixture into a bowl and add the rest of the milk powder and toss together.
6. Pour the melted white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until the crumbs are glazed. Continue tossing for 5 minutes or until the white chocolate hardens and is no longer sticky.

Cake Assembly:

Once everything has been prepared, it’s time to assemble the cake. I used a 6 inch cake ring to help with the assembling of the cake.

1. Using acetate film, line the 6 inch cake ring.
2. Take the first layer of cake and place it inside the cake ring
3. With a spatula, spread a dollop of the whipped cream on top of the cake
4. With a separate spatula, spread some of the sliced strawberries
5. Lightly sprinkle the milk crumb on top of the strawberries and whipped cream. Once layered, take the next cake layer and place on top of the milk crumble layer.
6. Repeat until the last layer of cake has been laid and repeat steps 3-5 for the last layer.
7. Add any decorations (in this case I used flowers) around the cake for decoration.
8. Once done, place the cake in the fridge for 2 hours and let it cool. After the cake has cooled, you  may take the film around the cake and place it on a serving plate.

Not to toot my own horn, this was by far the best tasting cake I’ve made and it was a delicious way to celebrate the beginning of my late 20’s.