Pastel Tres Leches

/ January 30, 2015

The last week has been a right nightmare – so much so that I simply dropped off my bottle of pisco at last week’s Fiesta Friday anniversary, nodded once around the room and headed off. To look after sick children, sort out work stuff and to try and catch up on lost sleep. Unsuccessfully, I have to add. Thankfully Angie just posted the highlights from last week’s festivities – and what an amazing feast I have missed! Do pop over to The Novice Gardener and take a look: last week it was starters and aperitifs, this week it is mains and desserts. Needless to say I decided to go for the latter and brought something very special: a Mexican-style ‘three milk cake’, a popular Latin American treat made even more spectacular in Margarita Carrillo Arronte‘s version that includes a strawberry filling and an Italian meringue topping. The latter seems quite popular in South America – first and last time I made it was for the Argentinian Torta Rogel. Pastel Tres Leches finished 1 I have used a smaller form for the cake and therefore reduced the measurements of the original recipe, simply because I thought it would look a little nicer (her recipe is for a 28cm cake tin – far too generous for us!). The cake is basically an egg-rich sponge that is soaked in a creamy mix of condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream, which makes the sponge literally melt on your tongue. Don’t be fooled by my step-by-step instructions: it is incredibly easy to make and to assemble!Pastel Tres Leches slice

Pastel Tres Leche (for a 9 inch / 20cm springform)

For the sponge:

  • 180g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 6 eggs (large), separated
  • 140g caster sugar
  • 1 tbs vanilla sugar
  • 3 tbs milk
  • 350g fresh strawberries (or frozen, slightly defrosted), washed and halved. Keep a few to decorate the cake.

For the three milk cream:

  • 270g condensed milk
  • 100ml evaporated milk
  • 100ml single cream
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tbs brandy

For the Italian meringue:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 60g caster sugar
  • juice of 1/4 lemon
  • 1 1/2 tbs golden syrup

Preheat your oven to 350F / 180C and and line the spring form with baking parchment.Pastel Tres Leches sponge Beat the 6 egg whites until they form stiff peaks. In a second bowl, whisk the sugar, vanilla sugar and the yolks until they form ribbons. Pastel Tres Leches sponge 2 Fold in the flour and baking powder, as well as the egg whites. Add milk if necessary. Pour the mix into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and let it cool down a little In the meantime, whisk all the ingredients for the cream until combined.Pastel Tres Leches sponge cut Remove the sponge from the tin and cut it diagonally into two slices. Place both layers, with the cut sides upwards on plates.Pastel Tres Leches strawberry filling While the sponge is still warm, spread the strawberry halves on top of the bottom layer.Pour 1/3 of the cream over the strawberries, then pour the second third over the top half. To make sure the layer is nicely soaked do this while the sponge layer is still belly-up. Then place the top half, top side up, on top of the strawberries. Pastel Tres Leches creamNow pour the remaining cream over the fully assembled cake, making sure it soaks nicely into the sponge.Pastel Tres Leches cream 2 For the Italian meringue, bring a little water to boil in a medium-sized pan. Place all the ingredients into a bowl which you place inside the pan, over but not touching the surface of the simmering water below. Pastel Tres Leches Italina meringue bain marieWhisk until the mixture becomes fluffy; remove the bowl from the bain marie and keep whisking it until it forms soft peaks. Pastel Tres Leches Italian meringuePastel Tres Leches meringue toppingCover the cake with the meringue with a spatula and switch on the broiling/grilling function of your oven. Gently brown the tips of the meringue under the grill, moving the whole cake close to the rods. Pastel Tres Leches decorationObviously, if you are in possession of a blow torch, use it. If not, the grill will do the same job. Pastel Tres Leches Serve and devour. I’ll be checking out what Angie and the others are up to. Happy first anniversary, Fiesta Friday! Fiesta Friday Badge Button I party @<

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59 thoughts on “Pastel Tres Leches”

  2. Pingback: First Fiesta Friday Anniversary (Part 2) | The Novice Gardener

    • Thank you, Julianna! I’ve never had it before, the UK are relatively untouched by Latin food, so it was a very positive surprise! Needless to say, our resident Latinos devoured the whole lot in seconds 😉

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  7. Sorry to hear that you’ve had a pants week – hope the kids are better and that you will catch uo on your sleep this weekend. Your cake is beautiful – just stunning and very different to the usual ones Thanks for sharing and Happy Fiesta Friday!

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  8. Oh my, Ginger, if this doesn’t help you feel better after a rough week, I don’t know what will! This is mighty impressive! I do fear I have a case of cake envy. 😉 Thanks for sharing this delicious dessert with all of us at Fiesta Friday!

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  15. I hope things are better for you now, Ginger?
    The cake looks lovely and reminds me of a cake my mum used to make whenever we had fresh strawberries 🙂 enjoy fiesta Friday and here’s to a better week next week xx

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    • ‘Tis the season to have sick kids I suppose – everybody’s got their own bugs to bear … we’re all better here in Casa Ginger, all we need is sleep. Like, a whole week of it!

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  19. Ooooo tres leches cake? I’m weak at the knees, there’s a few entries this week that have left me weak, and your cake is definitely in that lot :). Love the vibrant strawberry color that enhances the cake. I hope this week will be better for you Ginger?

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  21. Ginger, I am just drooling over this cake! Every part of it looks like absolute perfection! Tres Leches cake became very popular here about 10 years ago, and like anything very popular, became very degraded – quite often it’s a yellow cake mix, pour the milks over and cover with cool-whip.

    It’s so nice to see one made as it should be! Another masterpiece! 🙂

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