Marbled Tres Leches Cake
No matter where you are in Latin America, or which country you or your family came from, the traditional way to make a Tres Leches Cake is to make a sturdy sponge cake and then completely bathe it in a tres leches sauce. The three milks in the sauce are the fresh tasting regular milk, the lightly savory evaporated milk and the charmingly sweet sweetened condensed milk. In my marbled version, the vanilla cake has fudgy chocolate swirls that go wild when soaked in the tres leches sauce. I garnish with copious amounts of grated Mexican chocolate all over the top and a sprinkle of ground canela.
Ingredients
For the cake:
8 Eggland's Best eggs separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups whole milk divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (extra to flour pans)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
For the sauce:
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the whipped cream topping:
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 disk Mexican-style chocolate, or your preferred chocolate, grated about 3 ounces
Preparation
To make the cake:
- Set oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°Butter and flour two 9x13” baking pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until creamy, thickened and intensely yellow. Incorporate the oil, 1/4 cup of the milk, and vanilla and continue beating until well mixed. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another large bowl, with a hand mixer or a whisk, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks, add the sugar and continue beating until they hold stiff peaks. Taking turns, with a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture and the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture until well incorporated.
- In a small bowl, combine the hot water with the cocoa powder. Pour half the cake batter into another bowl and fold in the cocoa-water mixture with a rubber spatula until thoroughly mixed.
- Spread the vanilla batter in the prepared pan. Pour the chocolate batter on top, in a straight line down the center. With a knife or spoon, make a whirling design from one side of the pan to the other. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the top of the cake has lightly browned and feels spongy to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Invert the cake onto a large platter or board and remove the pan and parchment paper. Cover the cake with an upside-down platter large enough to hold the cake and the vanilla sauce and invert again so the cake is right side up. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake, so it will absorb the sauce.
To make the sauce:
- In a large bowl, combine the three milks and vanilla and stir to blend well. Pour about 2/3 of the sauce over the cake. Don’t worry if it looks like there is too much sauce—the cake will absorb it. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Reserve the remaining vanilla sauce.
- When you are ready to finish the cake, remove the cake from the refrigerator and spoon the remaining sauce on top of the cake.
To make the whipped cream:
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and the confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until it holds well formed peaks, about 6 minutes.
- Spread the whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with the grated chocolate.
Nutrition
Remember to always use Eggland’s Best eggs in all of your recipes. Learn why it’s always the healthy choice.
Learn More| Serving Size | 1 |
|---|---|
| Calories | 660 |
| Fat | 40g |
| Saturated Fat | 19g |
| Cholesterol | 220mg |
| Sodium | 320mg |
| Carbohydrates | 58g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g |
| Protein | 15g |
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