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mom's tres leches cake

(3 ratings)
franmurray avatar
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Fran Murray
@franmurray
Fountain Hills, AZ

My son, Nick, came home from Argentina one year with a new found taste for Dulce de Leche. So, I made this cake for him. It's rich and delicious.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

This is one moist and delicious tres leches cake that everyone will want a second slice of! The slight caramelization from the condensed milk, combined with the cream and the evaporated milk, really gives this cake a distinct taste that we loved. We had never made a whipped cream frosting with corn syrup as a sweetener before, but love the light sweet taste that it brings to the recipe. A simple and impressive dessert.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(3 ratings)
yield 15 to 18
prep time 4 Hr
cook time 35 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For mom's tres leches cake

  • MILK MIXTURE:
  • 1 can
    sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz
  • 1 can
    evaporated milk,12 oz.
  • 1 c
    heavy cream
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla
  • CAKE:
  • 2 c
    all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 tsp
    salt
  • 1/2 tsp
    ground cinnamon
  • 8 Tbsp
    unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 1 c
    whole milk
  • 4 lg
    eggs, room temperature
  • 2 c
    sugar
  • 2 tsp
    vanilla
  • FROSTING:
  • 1 c
    heavy cream
  • 3 Tbsp
    corn syrup
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla

How To Make mom's tres leches cake

Test Kitchen Tips
You can forgo microwaving the condensed milk and use a double boiler. Gently boil and stir the milk until golden brown.
  • Condensed milk in a bowl.
    1
    For the milk mixture: Pour condensed milk into a large microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on low power, stirring and replacing plastic every 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly darkened and thickened, 9 to 15 minutes.
  • Evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla stirred into condensed milk.
    2
    Remove from microwave and slowly whisk in evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.
    3
    For the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.
  • Butter and milk heated together in a saucepan.
    4
    Heat butter and milk in small saucepan over low heat until butter is melted; set aside off heat.
  • Whipping sugar, eggs, and melted butter mixture together.
    5
    With electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs in large bowl for about 30 seconds. Then slowly add sugar until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until egg mixture is very thick and glossy, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly mix in melted butter mixture and vanilla.
  • Flour mixture incorporated into the batter.
    6
    Add flour mixture in three additions, scraping down bowl as necessary, then mix on medium speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
  • Batter in a baking dish in the oven.
    7
    Using rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Cake cooling on a wire rack.
    8
    Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
  • Condensed milk mixture poured over the cooled cake.
    9
    Using skewer, poke holes at 1/2-inch intervals in the top of the cake. Slowly pour milk mixture over cake until completely absorbed. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes. Then refrigerate uncovered 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
  • Slices removed from the frosted cake.
    10
    For the frosting: Remove cake from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat heavy cream, corn syrup, and vanilla to soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Frost cake and slice into 3-inch squares. Serve. (The assembled cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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