How To Make Tres Leches Cake That Will Get The Whole World To Love You
Okay, I’m about to make a huge statement here, but I believe in it 100%.
This Tres Leches Cake has…
Swooned managers, bosses, and co-workers like never before.
It made people who already liked me like me even more.
Turned my enemies into friends.
Softened people I did not get along with at first into people I could talk to.
Made me the life of the party.
And it maybe even saved my job a couple of times!
This is an easy and practical recipe for Tres Leches Cake that almost anyone can make.
I highly encourage you to make this cake and share it with the people you love, or to be more calculating and political with it…bring it to an office potluck where a promotion is on the line. Doesn’t hurt to bring it…I kid! Just make it and enjoy!
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 Box of Duncan Hines Butter Pound Cake Mix
1 Cup of Milk (8oz)
1 14 oz Can of La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 12 oz Can of Carnation Evaporated Vitamin D Milk
A Blender
A Cake Pan of your preference
Good music, your preference as well
Step 1: Make the Cake
This one’s easy. Just follow the instructions on the Duncan Hines Cake Mix box. They design these cake mixes to be easy to make, so you won’t have any problem making this one.
Just make sure that when you do the Fork Test – where you put a fork in the center of the cake to test its readiness – that no cake crumbs come out. It should be a clean cut in and clean exit.
If the cake is not ready, that will affect how affect how the milk soaks into the cake.
The key to a good Tres Leches Cake is having even distribution throughout the cake.
You want the top, bottom, and center of your cake to have the same level of moisture. There’s another factor that will affect that as well – how long you let the cake sit before serving – but to increase the likelihood of having a delicious Tres Leches Cake, make sure your cake is ready. So follow the instructions on the cake mix box!
2. Making the Tres Leches
You’re nearing the final stages! Congrats!
Okay, go grab your blender and pour in you cup of whole milk. If you don’t have a measuring cup handy, your blender might have some preset hash marks on the side to tell you where 1 Cup ends and so forth.
Then pour the entire can of Evaporated Vitamin D Milk. The can says to shake it up a bit before opening. Give it a little bit of a shake, cut it open with a can opener, and pour the entire thing in in.
Next, open the can of Sweetened Condensed Milk. You’re going to want to be careful with this can. Do not remove the lid all the way. Cut it to like 90%. The Sweetened Condensed Milk is really thick and viscous – it’s going to take a while to pour into the blender relative to the other milk.
Pour it directly into the blender. Grab a big metal spoon and paddle out some of the milk to increase the flow and how fast you can empty the can. You don’t have to empty out the entire can because that might be a little too time consuming. Just try to get most of it out, and the spoon will be big help here.
Put the lid on the blender. Put it on high and let her rip! Give it at least a minute for all the milks to mix and blend into one. Now it’s good to go!
Pro-Tip: you’re going to want to make this a little bit before the cake is ready. You’re going to want to. pour this directly onto the cake asap.
3. Pouring The Milk On
Once your cake is ready (don’t forget about the Fork Test people) you’re going to want to grab a fork and poke a bunch of holes into the cake. This is so that the Tres Leches super milk can pour into the cake easily.
*Don’t worry about the cake cooling down. As soon as your cake is ready, begin poking holes and then pour the Tres Leches Super Milk once you’re done. Sometimes, if you time it right, you might get a slightly warm and moist cake, and when you get that, you’re in heaven. More in that when it comes to serving.
To poke the holes, be careful and considerate.
1). Taking the fork, I insert the fok in and out of the cake running perpendicular to the long part of the cake pan. Imagine the needle of a sowing machine hammering back and forth on a piece of cloth; poking holes in the cake is a similar concept.
2). Once your first row is done, move an inch down and repeat. Finish once you’ve reached the end of the pan.
3). Once your holes are poked, slowly pour your milk all over the cake. Be deliberate with it. Don’t just waterfall it everywhere. Instead, think of it like your watering a plant – get a consistent and steady drip to rain down upon the cake.
If it’s your first time, you may want to ladle the milk on the cake and just take your time with it. Next is serving your cake.
Pro-Tip: if you see that the cake is not absorbing the milk, that means that the cake is not fully cooked, so the milk cannot fully penetrate every part of the cake. The easiest way to tell this is if you see milk is not absorbing readly and you have a layer of milk sitting on top of the cake. Something to watch out for.
4. Serving Your Cake
The part we’ve all been waiting for! We’re almost there!
Alright so you now have two options.
Option A: Let the cake sit in the milk for an hour and serve then. This is nice for intimate parties, and to have the cake served a little warm, or at least at room temperature.
Option B: Cover your cake in tin foil or plastic wrap and let it sit in your fridge over night for at least 8 hours. I learned this from watching Good Eats with Alton Brown, and it works.
If I’m going to be honest with you, I usually go with Option A because once people see the Tres Leches Cake, they’re going to want some ASAP.
This is why your cake being ready – the Fork Test people! – is key; the
Any Other Considerations
I’m sure there are other ways to make Tres Leches Cake. I encourage you to explore them and see which recipe and method works best for you. This is just an easy formula for at-home Tres Leches Cake.
If you want really good Tres Leches Cakes, I would consider you visit El Metate Panaderia in Santa Ana (pronounced “Santana” foo) in the El Toro Shopping Center, one of the many shopping centers in my hometown that make you feel like your in Tijuana, Mexico. But for real, it’s a good spot. Check it out.
But honestly, this is a great recipe. Ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores. Easy to make. Delicious to eat. What else could you ask for? Make one today, and let me know how it goes.
Fernando
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