Overview Ingredients Steps

Overview

Tres leches, a sweet cake soaked with three kinds of milk, needs no fanfare or champion — it’s already well-loved. “When I was a kid, tres leches was number one, and flan was number two,” says Alfredo Solis, chef and co-owner of the D.C. restaurant Mezcalero, who grew up in Mexico City and now serves his mom’s recipe at his restaurant.

But as with every popular dish, personal preferences, familial traditions and regional variations dictate differences. Some cooks start with a boxed cake mix or a rich butter cake as a base, others prefer a light sponge. Some like it topped with meringue, others prefer whipped cream. The only must? The namesake trinity of milks, typically canned sweetened condensed, canned evaporated and whole, fresh milk or cream.

It’s that freedom — and the fact that it’s hard to make sweet cake soaked in sweet milk taste bad — that has inspired bakers to get creative. There are many variations: It may be flavored with chocolate, coffee or coconut. It could be layered with cajeta, caramel or dulce de leche. Many bakers top it with candied cherries or fresh or roasted fruit. There are marbled tres leches, ube tres leches and tres leches cheesecake. This dessert begs its maker to bend the rules.

But to make it your own, you have to start with a simple base. That’s why I developed a recipe that produces an especially airy, but plain, sponge cake. Many recipes require that you separate the eggs, beating the yolks and whites in different bowls. But you don’t have to; beating them together, with the sugar, salt and baking powder, is faster, and dirties only one bowl. (Starting with cold eggs helps ensure they whip up into a tight, stable foam.) After the cake is baked and cooled, it gets soaked in a generous amount of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk, which is flavored with rum and vanilla. (Adding the flavorings to the soak rather than the cake means you don’t have to use as much of these expensive ingredients to enjoy their full flavor.) It’s going to seem like too much milk, but the cake will soak it up, I promise. It will also leave just a little extra, which will form a sort of sauce on the plate for each serving. Lightly sweetened whipped cream makes a fine, but simple, topping.

If you’re a classicist, make the cake as-is. But feel free to play around with it, too: Omit the rum or replace it with another spirit, use almond or coconut milks and coconut cream — many stores carry coconut sweetened condensed and evaporated milks in cans — to make it dairy-free, or add a layer of dulce de leche or jam to include another texture and flavor to the sweet, milky base. Infuse the milk soak with black tea, or consider adding ground cardamom or nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon. Fresh strawberries are a nice topping, but almost any fruit, fresh, sauteed or roasted, would pair well with a sweet, milky slice.

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

1/3 cup (80 milliliters) neutral oil, such as canola or corn oil or grapeseed oil, plus more for greasing the pan

6 large eggs, cold

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 1/4 cups (155 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted

FOR THE MILK SOAK

One (14-ounce/397-gram) can sweetened condensed milk

One (12-ounce/354 gram) can evaporated milk

1 cup (240 milliliters) whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup (240 milliliters) heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch table salt

1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Steps

Step 1

Make the sponge cake: Position a baking rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom — but not the sides — of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. (Leaving the sides ungreased gives this very airy cake batter something to cling to as it rises.)

Step 2

In a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment — or, if using a hand mixer, in a large bowl — combine the eggs, sugar, baking powder and salt. On medium speed, whisk until ingredients are well combined, about 1 minute, then beat on high speed until mixture is pale, fluffy and tripled in volume, 4 to 8 minutes. (This takes just under 5 minutes in a 6-quart stand mixer, but closer to 8 minutes using a handheld electric mixer.)

Step 3

Lower the mixer speed to medium-low and slowly pour in the oil. Lower the mixer speed to low, and sprinkle in the flour, a little at a time, just until the batter has absorbed it all. Turn the mixer off and, if using the stand mixer, remove the bowl. Using a plastic spatula, gently fold the batter over itself a few times to ensure all of the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Step 4

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and, using an offset spatula, gently spread the batter so it fills the pan in an even layer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is light golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed in the center with a finger. (The cake will not shrink away from the sides of the pan.) Let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Using a fork or skewer, pierce the cake 8 to 10 times evenly across its surface — this will help it absorb all of the milk soak.

Step 5

Make the milk soak: In a large bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, vanilla and rum, if using. Using a whisk or a spoon, stir until smooth, for about 30 seconds. Set aside or refrigerate until the cake has cooled.

Step 6

Once the cake is cooled, gently pour the milk mixture evenly over the surface of the cake. It will look like there’s too much milk at first, but the cake will absorb it all. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, overnight or up to 5 days before serving.

Step 7

Make the whipped cream:
In a stand mixer bowl — or if using a hand mixer, in a large bowl — combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt and rum, if using. Beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread whipped cream over the surface of the chilled cake, then slice the cake into squares and serve.

Recipe from staff writer G. Daniela Galarza.

Tested by Ann Maloney; email questions to voraciously@washpost.com.

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Nutrition

Calories: 317; Total Fat: 15 g; Saturated Fat: 7 g; Cholesterol: 98 mg; Sodium: 196 mg; Carbohydrates: 38 g; Dietary Fiber: 0 g; Sugars: 29 g.