Monday, May 26, 2014

Tres Leches Cake

My son needed to bring a traditional Latin American food to Spanish class.  My first thought was Tres Leches Cake!  It means three milks.  In this case, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and whole milk.  When he okayed this with his teacher she said, "That is really an acquired taste.  But if you want to bring it you can."  I took that as a challenge!  Everyone was gonna love my version!  (or that's what I played out in my mind, anyway)  Well, when I picked him up from school that day, he came out with the spatula in his hand.  When I asked how it went he said that was all that was left, the spatula.  Everyone loved it and they ate every bit of it.  Then the teacher said, "I guess I should have tried a piece."  I guess she should have!

Here's how I did it:




TRES LECHES CAKE

1 box yellow cake mix
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip, thawed
vanilla extract
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.  In a large bowl (or stand mixer) mix cake mix, 1 cup evaporated milk, oil and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely.




In a large measuring cup (or bowl with a spout), mix the remaining evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup whole milk and a splash of vanilla extract.  Whisk together until smooth.


Using a skewer or chopstick, poke holes in the cake.




Pour the milk mixture slowly over the holes in the cake.





Place in the fridge for at least an hour (I like to leave it overnight) to let the cake soak up the milk.




When ready to serve place thawed Cool Whip in a large bowl.  Gently fold in a splash of vanilla and a little cinnamon.


Spread over cake.  If you are not serving right away, put it back in the fridge.  Store leftovers (if you have any -heehee) in the fridge.



I wish I had a picture of a cut piece of the cake, but like I said, they ate it all!


***Update:  My son made me this cake for Mother's Day!  So, here is a picture of a cut piece of cake.  Moist, sweet and delicious!



As you can see, this is a really easy recipe and it's great for a Summer party because you can make it ahead of time, plus it's cool and refreshing.  Enjoy!


23 comments:

  1. Yummy! I love tres leches cake and your version is how I make mine also. sometimes I sub white cake mix or vanilla cake mix for yellow. Also I use media-crema (also found next to canned milk), half and half or heavy whipping cream for the whole milk as part of the tres milks. I think I might just have to make this weekend since the craving just hit.

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  2. Yummy! I love tres leches cake and your version is how I make mine also. sometimes I sub white cake mix or vanilla cake mix for yellow. Also I use media-crema (also found next to canned milk), half and half or heavy whipping cream for the whole milk as part of the tres milks. I think I might just have to make this weekend since the craving just hit.

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  3. Made this last night sitting in the fridge so the milk can so up getting ready to ice it with the whip cream can't wait to try, surprise cake for my honey on father's day, recipe was so simple to follow !!

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  4. Just made it for a party tomorrow. I've done it with cake mix before but never added condensed milk inside mix. Can't wait to try it. Thx...i'll get a picture!

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  5. I just made this and it was AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing1

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  6. For my tres milk I mix condense milk, evaporate milk and coconut milk. I gives a nice tropical taste. Then I put shredded coconut and maraschino cherries.

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  7. Great recipe! It has been a success a number of times! Thank you!

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  8. So do you add the water and condensed milk to the cake mix or just the cond. milk??

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  9. No water. You substitute Evaporated milk. So use evaporated milk instead of water

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  10. I heard anoab this"Tres Leche" cake, and I was so I happy to find the recipe and how easy it was to make. And it was wonderful! Thanks 🐢

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  11. We made this a few days ago and loved it. We are making it again tonight but with French vanilla cake and topping with strawberries. Next time we are going to use spice cake and drizzle caramel sauce over the whip cream. Wish my son was home from college because he would love it too. I like the comment above to use coconut milk and then I would top with toasted coconut. Maybe add pineapple and mango too. So many variations to try. Thanks for the recipe.

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  12. I’m going to try making this cake tonight. Wish me luck!!!! Thank you for the recipe!!!!! ��

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  13. Wonderful recipe, tasty and easy:) For a little extra kick I added a shot of rumchata to the milk glaze.....soooo yummy.

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  14. Have you ever made this in smaller pan?

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