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Tres Leches Cake

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The Chilean version of this popular dessert.

  • Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
  • Yield: 20

Ingredients

Units

For the cake,
adapted recipe from the book Sky High

  • 8 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons of melted butter and at room temperature

to assemble the cake,

  • 1 can (354 grams) of evaporated milk
  • 1 can (397 grams) of condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 jar (380 grams) of Dulce de Leche

To decorate the cake,

  • 4 egg whites at room temperature
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F or 180 C. Prepare 3 molds of 20cm diameter, cut circles of parchment paper and cover the bottom of the pans.
  2. Place a pot with 2 cm of water on the stove, lower the heat when it starts boiling to a simmer.
  3. In a stainless steel bowl, beat the eggs until mixed well, one minute with a round wire whisk. Add sugar while continuing to beat. Place the bowl on the pot with the simmering water and continue beating until the sugar dissolves. It takes about 3-5 minutes.
    Egg beaten and warm
  4. Remove from heat and beat the eggs with a mixer at high speed until the mixture is of the consistency of soft peaks or ribbon stage—about 5 minutes.
    egg beatenRibbon stage of eggs
  5. Place the flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a sieve and sift a third of the mixture over the batter. Incorporate with enveloping movements by hand, repeat two more times. Incorporate the melted butter with soft motions; it is essential to be gentle with the batter because it does not have baking powder.
    adding the flour batter ready
  6. Divide the batter between the 3 pans. I weigh the molds to make sure they are even (300 grams each). Bake for 15 minutes or until the cakes are browned, and when you bury a stick, it comes out dry and without crumbs. Allow cooling entirely in the molds, pass a table knife over the edge of the cake, and invert, peel the silicone paper.
    Baked cake
  7. Mix everything except the Dulce de Leche by beating with a balloon whisk. The volume is going to be about 4 cups. Place the Dulce de leche in a decorating bag with a flat tip.
  8. Place one cake on the tray that you are going to use to serve the cake. Moisten slowly with the spoonful with 1/3 of the reserved mix of Tres Leches (1 1/3 cup for each cake). Place a thin layer of Dulce de leche, as seen in the photo. Cover with another cake, moisten and then put the layer of Dulce de leche. Finish with another cake and moisten.
    Filling with Dulce de Leche Cake
  9. In a large pot, place 5cm of water and put to boil for the water bath. When it is boiling, reduce the heat to a minimum. Place the egg whites, sugar and, vanilla if desired in a metal bowl that can be placed on the pot to assemble the water bath so that the bowl does NOT touch the water. With a manual balloon whisk, mix all the ingredients. Stir all the time until the sugar dissolves. This is fast, 3-5 minutes. To be sure that the sugar is dissolved, take a little and rub it between your fingers.
  10. Remove from the water bath and, using a mixer, whip at high velocity until the meringue is cold—about 10 minutes.
  11. Cover the cake with the meringue, and using a kitchen torch, caramelize the meringue.

    Cake cover with meringue blow torched cake

  12. Refrigerate until serving.
    Tres Leches Cake, Chilean Recipe
  • Author: Pilar Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Sweets
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Chilean

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 414
  • Sugar: 56.3 g
  • Sodium: 136.7 mg
  • Fat: 10.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 70.8 g
  • Fiber: 0.3 g
  • Protein: 10.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 118.3 mg