Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002

Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: Latin Flavors

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (86)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(86)

Cook Time:
1 hr 0 min
Level:
Difficult
Yield:
1 cake, about 10 servings

Times:

Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep: 4 min
Cook: 1 hr 0 min
Total:: 2 hr 4 min

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Ingredients

Cake:

6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream topping:

1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

Icing:

3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites
1 ripe mango, peeled, seed removed, and thinly sliced
1 ripe papaya, peeled, seeds removed, and thinly sliced

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden, 25 minutes.

To make the cream topping: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend on high speed.

Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the icing: Once the cake is completely chilled, in a saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 to 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. While beating, add the hot syrup in a stream. Beat until all the syrup has been added, the mixture cools, and a glossy icing forms.

To assemble: Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread the icing evenly across the top. Arrange the mango and papaya slices over the top and serve.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America
Dalia Lake Zurich, IL 12-21-2009
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Perfect, if you tweak it a little bit
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was my first time making a tres leches cake and I used this recipe. I baked it in an 11" x 15" dish and was glad I did!... I'm not sure why they wanted us to make it in a much smaller dish because this turned out pretty thick (a good size, actually) but if I had done it in a smaller size, it would have overflowed. I also doubled the amount of all the milks needed for the topping. And instead of the icing recipe, I just used Cool Whip and garnished it with caramel. I made it late at night and tried it in the morning and it was pretty good but the flavor of the sweetened condensed milk was a little too strong. I tried it again later that night and it was much better. Then I tried it the next morning and it was even better! It didn't last any longer than that. I guess it gets better over time. I will definitely be making this again!Read more
recipe Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America
null null, null 12-18-2009
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First time to make it.
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thought this was a great Recipe. First time I tried to make it and it was as good as buying it. I bought whipped topping... instead of making the icing. Read more
recipe Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America
Marjorie Lakeland, FL 12-04-2009
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very good!!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

every body that eat this tres leches LOVE IT.... i have to give the recepe to all of the persons and family that eats... this...... it is very good, excellent... thank you..Read more
recipe Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America
Karen San Antonio, TX 11-22-2009
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Hello
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I havan' tryed this recipe but i kow it will be bad. meaning good
recipe Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America
Karissa Mesquite, TX 11-16-2009
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This was fabulous!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've never had it before, but it was wonderful! I did not have any problems with it being dry (as others did), but that may... be because I poked holes all through the cake. I will be making this again VERY soon. I also used whipped cream frosting, but not because I don't like mango but rather because I am allergic to it. :-)Read more
recipe Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America
null null, null 11-01-2009
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Could be more moist
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

After weighing all the glowing reviews before making this recipe, I can only conclude that I am not a Tres Leches fan, as... much as I loved the version I first had in Costa Rica. (I've never found any to equal it since.) While a few tweaks to my approach would improve the final result, I'm not sure I can get over my disinterest in plain cake soaked in sugary milk. Changes I would make - like many other reviewers, I felt it needed at least 1 1/2 times the milk mixture to provide the drenched effect of the genuine cake (I added only 1/2 cup skim milk to the prescribed mixture). Knowing I likely wouldn't have time to make the icing, I added about 1/2 tsp of almond flavoring to the cake for some added flavor, but that wasn't enough for me (I'm sure the addition of rum satisfies that need for many others). Like many reviewers, I served the cake with whipped cream (with a little powdered sugar and vanilla), and I sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. The effect was nice but didn't come close to wowing my guests (one a native of Brazil), who all agreed it wasn't moist enough. Read more