Recipes Around the World: Tres Leches Cake • The Blonde Abroad

Melissa of Plane and Cheesy is bringing a delicious dessert to the ‘Recipes Around the World‘ series!

This recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember. My aunt created a similar version to my grandma’s and through the years has modified it to her liking. My grandma was the reason that Tres Leches has continued to be such a staple in my family and community!

It is amazing to think that traditions, like this recipe, have flourished through the years. It’s a stand-alone dessert and very filling.

Here’s the recipe for how to make Tres Leches Cake at home!

Granada, Nicaragua

Cultural Context

A few decades into the 1900s, during World War II, the Nestle Company opened in Mexico. From their roots, Tres Leches became popular and loved. It has been popular in the Hispanic culture ever since.

Through the decades, Hispanics have created multiple ways in making the Tres Leches. As the generations passed in my family and with the influence of my grandma, we’ve modified it to our liking. Honestly, we’ve only changed a few things here and there but everyone LOVES it EVERY time!

A homemade Tres Leches truly makes your mouth water in the best way possible—especially my aunt’s version.

We usually request it as a birthday cake or if we wanted to bring a welcome dish for the holidays. It’s a dessert!

Ingredients

The Icing

1 pint of heavy cream
5 Egg whites
3 tablespoons of sugar

The Cake

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1⁄2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon of salt
1⁄3 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar

The Tres Leches

1/4 cup heavy cream
1⁄4 teaspoon of salt 1⁄3 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
5 egg yolks
1 pack of cherries
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Recipe + Preparation

If you would like more information, I published this recipe on my site: Plane and Cheesy: Tres Leches

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grab the 8×8 pan and grease it with butter or Pam.
Crack the eggs, but separate the yolk and the egg whites into 2 bowls! Egg white will be used in the icing, yolks will be in the cake. This is very crucial because it makes a huge difference in the dish. If the egg whites fall into yolks or vice versa, I would recommend you start over. That’s the main reason why we start with the eggs before adding other ingredients.
The Icing: Add egg whites to the mixing bowl. Mix with the heavy cream and sugar to create the fluffy meringue-like texture. Set aside until you’re ready to spread it as the final touch.
The Cake: Add baking powder, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Sift it into the egg yolks and mix until the egg yolk becomes that rich, pastel yellow color. Add the milk and the vanilla extract to the mixer. Pour it into the pan and bake for about 40 minutes.
The Tres Leches: Add the ingredients into the bowl. Use the mixer to create the Tres Leches spread.
Finishing: Grab a fork to poke holes into the cake, so the spread soaks in easily. Spread the Tres Leches mixture, then spread the meringue icing. Add the cherries with enough space to cut the dish into squares, or however you would like to cut. In an 8×8 pan, I usually count it as 4 cherries × 4 cherries.