Those who know me know that I keep a frantic pace during the week…It is only on the weekends when I can decompress and have a bit of time off to visit with friends and celebrate special occasions which may have been overlooked or shelved during the week. We were invited to spend Labor Day weekend with friends who wanted to celebrate the belated 10th birthday of a very special little man. His name is Alessandro Valeri, and he has been battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia since he was 17 months old. In 2009, he was voted “Boy of the Year” by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and although his health struggles have been very difficult, Alessandro is very much a typical kid. He can be a picky eater, but he knows exactly what he wants, and he will let you know it! Today he may like chocolate, but tomorrow it’s vanilla all the way. I recently found out that his new found love is tres leche cake…so, when I knew we were going to be celebrating another milestone, I wanted to make it extra special…so tres leche cake it was.
Tres leche cake or pastel de tres leche, is basically a sponge cake that is soaked with 3 different types of milk, namely condensed milk, evaporated milk and either heavy cream or milk. The cake needs to be very spongy, so that it can absorb the milk…and I have found that if the cake is too rich, it will fall apart…so if you choose to make your own cake recipe instead of the one provided, don’t use a rich butter cake recipe! Traditionally, the cake is soaked with the 3 milk mixture and left to chill overnight. The next day, it is covered with an Italian meringue and can either be left as is, or you can flame the meringue for a more dramatic appearance. Some restaurants, serve the soaked cake, with custard and meringue for a truly decadent indulgence…others simply top with whipped cream. If you choose to use meringue, remember that you need to make an Italian meringue where the whites are cooked by pouring in a hot syrup, and not a French meringue where the whites remain raw. If you would like to learn more about the different types of meringue and their uses, visit out instructional category in the right margin of this page.
The cake is very popular in many parts of Latin America, but the earliest version of the cake was actually found in Nicaragua. In some restaurants, a newer version called quatro leche (four milk) was created by the addition of a rich caramel known as dulce de leche.
I make my tres leche a little different than most people. Usually, the milk is combined and poured over the cake as is, but I combine all of the milks together with a split vanilla bean and cook them until I achieve a slight syrup consistency to the mixture. Doing this guarantees maximum flavor and absorption into the cake. Once you have cooked the milk, you can add some amaretto, frangelico, rum, brandy or cognac right before pouring it onto the cake, for a more adult version. One of the secrets that many recipes do not tell you is that if you want maximum absorption of the liquid, the cake should be cool and the milk syrup slightly warm but not hot. I have been using this recipe for many years, and I find that the cake works great for this application. It is a basic chiffon cake, and not very rich. It has just enough fat to make it spongy and tender, which is what Alessandro loves most about the cake.
Sponge Cake (Recipe from Bo Friberg, The Professional Pastry Chef)
Makes 1 -12” cake
½ c oil (3.5oz)
6 eggs, separated
¾ c water (5.7oz)
¾ t vanilla
10.5oz cake flour
10.5oz sugar
3t BP
¾ t salt
Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a medium sized mixing bowl and the whites in a mixer bowl to be whipped separately. Measure out all of the other ingredients, and combine the flour with the salt and the baking powder. Add half of the sugar to the yolks and mix well. Add the oil and the water and then add all of the flour to make a paste then set aside.
Now we have to make a French meringue to give volume to the batter, so begin whipping the egg whites with a pinch of salt until frothy… then add a little sugar. Continue whipping until the whites have achieved full volume and then add the rest of the sugar and beat again for a few more minutes. Once the egg whites are finished, add a little to the batter and mix in quickly to lighten it, then fold the rest in gently. Pour the cake batter into a greased 12” cake pan and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
Tres Leche Mixture (you will need to double this recipe for one 12″ cake)
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
Split vanilla bean
Put everything together in a microwave proof container and heat well until very warm but not hot. At this point, trim the top of the cake off, this will allow the warm milk mixture to be absorbed into the cake. Place the trimmed cake into a larger cake pan that is lined with a large piece of plastic wrap. This plastic wrap will be folded over the cake, so make sure it is large enough to cover the entire top of cake. Doing this will concentrate the milk mixture at the base of the cake so that it absorbs also from the bottom (see pictures below). Once the milk mixture is very warm, but not hot, begin spooning it over the trimmed top of the cake. This is important, the heating of the milk will allow it to be absorbed more readily. Once you have poured about 3/4 of the mixture wrap up the cake and set aside at room temperature for about 1 hour. After this time, check the base and see if all the milk has been absorbed and if it has unwrap and add the rest, then wrap it up again and leave for another 15-30 minutes at room temperature. Once all of the mixture has been absorbed or just a little remains, refrigerate the cake for 2 hours or overnight until you are ready to add the meringue. If you don’t want to add meringue you can serve it with slightly sweetened whipped cream. When ready to decorate, remove the plastic and invert cake onto a platter. If you have extra milk mixture, you can place it around the edges of the cake. Decorate with Italian meringue or whipped cream.
Italian Meringue (Bo Friberg, The Professional Pastry Chef)
1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 whites)
3 oz corn syrup (prevents crystallization)
6 oz granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
First measure out the sugar, corn syrup and water and put into a small pot and start cooking on a medium-high heat until it reaches softball stage (240°F) on a candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, separate the whites and put them into a clean and dry bowl with a pinch of salt and start whipping. Once you start whipping, don’t stop the machine…you can slow it down, but don’t stop altogether. If you stop beating the whites after you have started, the whites will go back into their previous state and puddle and the bottom of the bowl. When the syrup has cooked, turn the speed of the mixer on high, and carefully pour the sugar SLOWLY into the whites along the inside edge of the bowl. Be careful not to pour it onto the moving whip or you will soon be wearing hot syrup…definitely not fun. If you pour the sugar into the whites too fast, the whites will cook, and you will have pieces of cooked egg white in your meringue. Once you have poured all of the syrup into the whites, just let the mixer do all the work. Let it continue to whip on high speed until the whites have cooled down (touch the outside of the bowl) and have doubled in volume and appear glossy. You must use them right away, or they will start getting stiffer and become more difficult to spread. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and completely coat with the meringue. You can mound the meringue on top for a more homemade look or decorate it more professionally. In addition, you can leave the meringue white or flame it for a more dramatic appearance. For step by step directions along with photos of how to make Italian meringue, please click here.
WE LOVE YOU ALEX!!
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