This Tres Leches Cake is perfect. It's a ruin your weight watchers plan binge eat half the cake with a fork for breakfast and hide the rest for later kind of good.
Cinco de Mayo!!
Cinco de Mayo is almost here and I am really really sad. But we're finishing out the celebration on PtS and GirlCarnivore with a bang! This Tres Leches Cake is the perfect end to a spicy Mexican binge.
I'm pretty sure I could eat Mexican for an entire month long celebration of Cinco de Mayo if we wanted to make this party last... But I'm also sure I would be painfully single and looking for a place to rent on the cheap too as Handsome patiently puts up with a few Mexican recipes by eating a bag of Chex mix for dinner but wouldn't have it for a month straight.
Tres Leches Cake!
Tres Leches means three milks, which can make for an awfully heavy and dense cake when you think about it. But the magic elves in the Cook's kitchen made this work in big ways without falling to a soggy mess.
I have to say, this Tres Leches Cake is amazing. Bees Knees. Boom shizzle and so forth. It's simple, but the few ingredients really hold their flavors. That ½ teaspoon of cinnamon is just enough. The cake is perfect. It's ruin your weight watchers plan, binge eat half the cake with a fork for breakfast and hide the rest for later good. I mean, I would never do that... But it could be that good... If you had a fork and no one was looking. 😉
For this recipe I tried out a handy dandy BEAST of a machine. The guys and gals over at BigKitchen sent me an awesome Cuisinart Hand Mixer to test out. Like a big tool I sat on it for a while. I had a hand mixer once, and it ruined hand mixing relations for me for a long time. It had two speeds, off, and oh god the kitchens on fire. There was nothing that could be effectively mixed with it. So, even though I hated washing the bowl and mixer every time I needed to whip something up, I ended up relying on Betsy, the KitchenAid stand mixer, for every little thing.
That was until yesterday morning, when I needed to whip this topping up in no time, snap pics and get to work.
This amazing dodad comes with a whisk attachment! And it has 9 speeds, and an engine like a tank, so it gracefully powered up to speed and whipped the frosting into soft peaks in no time. I was genuinely shocked it did such an amazing job. Even though I do love Betsy, its going to be great making pancakes, brownies, and quick breads without having to haul out so many big supplies.
So this Tres Leches will have dessert covered. Looking for some inspiration for the rest of your Cinco de Mayo celebration? Try these out!
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Burritos
- Simple Strawberry Margaritas for One
- Colorado Red Chile Enchiladas Sauce
If you’ve tried this Tres Leches recipe or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also follow along for more good eats and travel tips on Instagram @passthesushi & @girlcarnivore, Twitter & Facebook.
Tres Leches Cake
Tres Leches means three milks, which can make for an awfully heavy and dense cake when you think about it. But the magic elves in the Cook's kitchen made this work in big ways without falling to a soggy mess.
Ingredients
For the Milk Mixture:
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cake:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 large eggs, at room temp
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
For the Topping:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Prepare the milk mixture:
- Put the condensed milk into a microwave safe bowl (use a big one). Cover tightly (no joke) with plastic wrap and microwave on low power for 9-15 minutes, stirring and replacing the plastic wrap every 3 minutes. Seriously, replace the plastic wrap every 3 minutes. Watch the microwave like a hawk. This goes from awesome to sticky hot mess all over your microwave in seconds. Not that I would know.
- When slightly darkened and thickened, remove plastic wrap and slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla. Cover and set aside.
For the cake:
- preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
- Melt the butter with milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat to cool.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds.
- Slowly add the sugar, and continue to whip until incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds. Increase the speed on that bad boy to medium-high and whip those eggs until they are thick and glossy, 5 to 7 minutes longer.
- Reduce the speed and pour in the milk and butter mixture and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture, in three additions, scraping down the sides as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Spread cake batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Using a wooden skewer (bigger than a toothpick), pole holes all over the top of the cake at ½" intervals.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture over the cake until incorporated I poured a little at a time in different areas and let it be absorbed before continuing on.
- Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before placing in the fridge for 3 to 24 hours, uncovered.
Make the whipped topping:
- Remove the cake from the fridge 30 minutes right before serving.
- Using a stand mixer (or a hand held mixer with the whisk attachment) whip the cream, corn syrup, and vanilla on medium low speed until foamy, about 1 minute.
- Increase the speed gradually to avoid splatter and whip until soft peaks for about 2-3 minutes. Spread over cake, slice and serve.
Notes
from Cook's Illustrated Mexican Favorites
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 649Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 153mgSodium: 473mgCarbohydrates: 84gFiber: 1gSugar: 67gProtein: 12g
Nutrition information provided is an estimate from nutritionix.com. For specific health concerns, please put the recipe into your Dr recommended nutrition calculator.
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
Oh my friend, we love tres leches cake over here. That looks amazing. I'm sorry that your Cinco de Mayo celebration is over so you don't have an excuse to flood your kitchen with Mexican food anymore. I'm sure we can come up with another holiday soon though. 🙂
The hand blender sounds wonderful. Since I don't have a stand mixer, I rely on my hand-held one for everything. I'm jealous of your new one. That being said, I looked at what The Kitchen has to offer and got overwhelmed pretty quickly. I think I settled on the 16" All-Clad paella pan as my favorite thing. I want one of those pretty badly. Well, that or the KitchenAid stand mixer. 🙂
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
I already follow you on facebook.
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
I already follow you on Twitter.
Ai says
I've never had tres leches cake but in my head it tastes devine 🙂
Wish I lived in the US to join the giveaway!
Heidi @foodiecrush says
I looooove tres leche cake. Bees knees, shnizzle and boom back to you too! Happy cinco de mayo.
Tieghan says
YUM! i have never had this cake but it sounds so good!
Danielle says
I'm right there with you! We could eat Mexican together every day and race each other in our Hoverounds because we wouldn't be able to walk! I'm a big fan of Tres Leche cake too. How could it be bad with 3 milks?!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I think I've only have tres leches cake once - and it was at a wedding! Very good but never think to make it for some unknown reason. As for Big Kitchen, I'm dreaming of the entire set of AllClad pans.
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I follow you on FB
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I follow Big Kitchen on FB
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I follow you on Twitter
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I follow Big Kitchen on Twitter
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I tweeted https://twitter.com/thespiffycookie/status/330338350735183872
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
I subscribe to your RSS feed
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This is my all time favorite cake!
Kristen says
I love the whistling tea kettle! This cake makes my mouth water though!
Kristen says
I like Pass the Sushi on facebook!
Kristen says
I like Big Kitchen on facebook!
Kristen says
I follow Big Kitchen on twitter!
Tanya C says
I would love to be eating this cake for breakfast, it looks incredible. I follow you on twitter.
Tanya C says
I also follow you on FB 🙂
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
I follow PtS on FB.
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
I am now following BigKitchen on FB.
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
I subscribe to your emails.
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
I follow you on Twitter.
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
Love this cake. I am all for using a fork at breakfast time and devouring it. It would be worth the extra miles of exercise.
Isabel says
I follow you on Facebook
Isabel says
I follow you on twitter
Isabel says
I follow big kitchen on twitter
Isabel says
I already receive your emails
Isabel says
I follow big kitchen on facebook
LeNay says
The Big Kitchen has soooooo much to offer. I liked the Chat Pack Conversation Icebreaker Cards for KidsConversation. It sounds like a great idea for a crowd of kids who don't know each other at a party. I already follow you on facebook. I have never had Tres Leche Cake but I will definitely have to try it. It sounds wonderful.
Millie says
Any of their salt and pepper shakers is adorable!
Millie says
I follow you on Twitter!
Millie says
I follow BigKitchen on Twitter
Millie says
I tweeted about the giveaway!
Vicki @ WITK says
I think we may have had the same hand mixer. Mine has two settings also. Off and all of your flour is now on your pants. Very convenient. And I have a BF who doesn't like Mexican food either. We can get together and send the men off to watch baseball or something and we can eat tacos and chili. Then this cake. Yum.
karen says
I like that cuisinart griddler. Need to up my pancake game here!
karenreichmann@hotmail.com
Tracey says
Happy Cinco de Mayo, Kita! I'm wishing I had everything on hand to make this cake this afternoon - just one last treat before the day is over!
Dreamiest product? I'm going with the meat grinder attachment - I'm still yearning for one after your post 🙂
Belinda @zomppa says
Though km in shock it's May, I'm over the moon with this cake!
Julia says
This is by no means the 'dreamiest,' but, I've wanted it forever: the kitchenaid pasta maker attachment.
Julia says
I follow PtS on facebook.
Julia says
I follow BK on facebook
Julia says
I follow PtS on twitter.
Laurie {SimplyScratch} says
I could eat this cake Cinco de Mayo or not! Looks amazing!
RavieNomNoms says
I could eat Mexican for a month too! SOOO delicious! 🙂
Your cake is definitely the bees knees!
Sandy says
With summer grilling the Progressive Patty Caddy would be very handy
Sandy says
I like Pass the Sushi on facebook
Sandy says
I like Big Kitchen on Facebook
Sandy says
I receive your email
Sandy says
I receive your RSS feed
Sandy says
I pinned this https://pinterest.com/pin/151715081169814255/
Heather @ Bake, Run, Live says
I would love to start making my own ground meat, so I'm going with their Chef's choice meat grinder attachment for the KitchenAid mixer.
Heather @ Bake, Run, Live says
I follow you on Twitter!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Yum! I love Tres Leches cake! This looks wonderful 🙂
Tracy says
All dreamy, but I'll pick the Breville Ikon juice fountain.
Judi W says
I love the AllClad pans
Judi W says
I follow Pass the Sushi on FB
Judi W says
I follow BigKitchen on FB
Judi W says
I have an email subscription
Becky Greene says
I love the Soleil cookware from La Creuset. Thanks for the chance to win!
Becky Greene says
I am following PassTheSushi on Twitter via @AlphaBecky.
Becky Greene says
I am following @BigKitchenStore on Twitter via @AlphaBecky.
Becky Greene says
Tweted the giveaway.
https://twitter.com/AlphaBecky/status/332855554143838208
Becky Greene says
I shared the giveaway on Google+.
Becky Greene says
Pinned the giveaway, too.
https://pinterest.com/pin/243616661065834468/
Shaina says
I adore tres leches cake. So flavorful and moist.