Strawberry Tres Leches Cake πππ - No. 283
An icebox cake for Cinco de Mayo, Between the Layers third birthday, or just because itβs spring
MY FIRST TASTE OF TRES LECHES CAKE was two decades ago at a Nashville restaurant called F. Scottβs. The server highly recommended a sponge cake saturated in milk and perfumed with coconut. It sounded odd but intriguing.
At first bite, I thought something had gone terribly wrong back in the kitchen. Who soaks cake in so much milk that itβs wet like a sponge needing to be wrung out?
But at second bite, it was cool and quenching. Third biteβa hint of coconut.
We were celebrating an anniversary as we had done many times before: One mutually decided dessert and two spoons. Well, actually if it was his year to decide on dessert that meant apple pie or crème brûlée, which were non-negotiable, and if mine, then chocolate or cake, even better if chocolate cake.
I recall things got quiet, and two competitive spoons worked voraciously to score that last bite.
Tres Leches reminds me of those trifle-like icebox cakes my mom would prep ahead and stash in the fridge for company.
She made one by layering torn bits of angel food cake, chocolate mousse laced with Bacardi, and plenty of real whipped cream in a glass casserole dish. After an overnight stay in the refrigerator, it was cloudlike.
When I was researching my book, American Cake, I shouldnβt have been surprised to learn that tres leches cake originally was the handiwork of Portuguese and Spanish grandmothers wanting to extend a freshly baked cake a few more days. Pour a sweet milk syrup over it, and tomorrow is resurrection day.
Named for the syrup of three milksβwhole milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milkβspooned onto a baked butter or sponge cake, pastel de tres leches has been a fixture in Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Cuban kitchens for generations.
Texas Monthly writer Patricia Sharpe surmised the cake was so well known across the Lonestar State it might have originated as a promotional recipe by a canned milk manufacturer. Sure enough, in the 1940s Nestle opened an evaporated milk manufacturing plant in Mexico, and a recipe for this cake was on the label of those cans. Today, tres leches is a blank canvas and its myriad variations are found in homes, bakeries, and restaurants across the country.
Plus, you donβt need a pastry degree to make it, which is why the dead-easy tres leches, along with panna cotta and bread pudding, are on countless American dessert menus. Any line cook who can make pancakes can whisk together cake batter, bake it, douse it with milks, and shove it in the walk in where its shelf life is nearly a week.
In honor of strawberry seasonβand Between the Layers third birthday!β I am sharing a strawberry version of tres leches for all of you who like to bake in a hurry. Maybe youβre putting in the garden or would rather pick peonies bursting into bloom than measure flour. Itβs a cake mix version, followed by a traditional method for scratch tres leches. Something for everyone.
Just be sure to cut your own slice. Some desserts are not meant for sharing.
- xo, Anne
What about strawberry shortcake? That was the kick-off recipe when I started this newsletter in April, 2021 (and itβs still in the archive for paid subscribers). As I recall, we still had one foot in the pandemic, and Iβd heard about some interesting writing over on Substack. Fearless, I dove in, and now, 283 newsletters later, Iβm still writing!
What are your favorite recipes using local strawberries? Whatβs been your favorite recipe to date from Between the Layers?
Strawberries factor into my new book, Baking in the American South, from a Louisiana refrigerator pie to old-fashioned strawberry shortcake. I know strawberry festivals occur around the world, but I was gobsmacked to learn how many strawberry festivals take place just in the South. (Louisiana hosts the oldest in April in Ponchatoula, just north of New Orleans across Lake Ponchartrain. Maryland has 20 strawberry festivals in May and June, and Florida has a dozen.)
Havenβt had a chance to pre-order my new book? Hereβs the link to do that and grab those six bonus recipes. My local independent bookstore, Parnassus Books, is also offering to ship you a signed copy upon publication. Hereβs that link, too.
Iβll be sharing the book tour stops in May. As a sneak peek, Iβll be in conversation with Carrie Morey of Callieβs Biscuits in Charleston, Kyle Tibbs Jones of the Bitter Southerner in Athens, Nathalie Dupree in Raleigh, KC Hysmith in Carrboro, Poppy Tooker in New Orleans, and Alana Al-HatlaniΒ and Sid Evans from Southern Living in Birmingham. More to come!
THE RECIPE:
Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
Tres Leches is well suited for cake mixes because the focus is not so much on the cake itself but the milk syrup and the interesting flavors you can infuse into the cake as it soaks. I found in testing that the cake is also well suited to a springform pan as the cake stays in that pan in the fridge to soak up the syrup, making prep and cleanup a snap. (Place a rimmed sheet pan underneath to catch any runaway juices.) You could absolutely add other fresh berries on top, serve with homemade lemon curd, and just take my ideas and run with them.
Makes 12 servings
Prep: 20 to 25 minutes
Bake: 45 to 50 minutes
Chill: 2 hours
Cake:
Vegetable oil spray, for greasing the pan
1 package (15.25 or 16.25 ounces) white or yellow cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
3 large eggs
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest, if desired (from one small lemon)
Milk Syrup:
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (half of a 7-ounce can)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish:
Lightly sweetened real whipped cream
1 cup sliced, sweetened strawberries
Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350ΒΊF. Mist the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil and set the pan aside.
Place the cake mix and gelatin in a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Add the eggs, water, oil, and lemon zest, if desired. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended, 30 seconds. Stop the machine, and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 minute longer until the batter is smooth and fluffy. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula, and place the pan in the oven.
Bake the cake until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, and unsnap the side of the pan. Allow the cake to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the Milk Syrup. Place the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl and whisk to combine. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill while the cake cools.
To soak the cake, place the cake back in the springform pan, and lock the side. Poke 10 to 12 holes in the cake with a chopstick or the blunt end of a wooden skewer. Place the springform pan on a small baking sheet or into a larger 10-inch round cake pan. Remove the milk syrup from the fridge. Slowly ladle the syrup over the cake, allowing plenty of time for the syrup to soak into the holes of the cake, 4 to 5 minutes. Cover the springform pan with plastic wrap and place the pan in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. (A little of the syrup may leak out onto the pan.)
To serve, remove the pan from the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap, and unsnap the side of the pan. Transfer the cake (on the bottom of the pan) to a serving plate, or carefully run a long knife under the cake to remove it from the pan bottom and place it on the plate. Pile the whipped cream in the center of the cake, and spoon the berries over the cream. Slice and serve.
For a from-scratch, plain tres leches: Place 1 stick soft unsalted butter and 1 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating about 15 seconds after each egg. Blend in 1 teaspoon vanilla, and set the batter aside. Sift together 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the batter about 2 tablespoons at a time, blending on low speed after each addition. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, and place the pan in the oven. Continue with the recipe, letting the cake cool, then covering it with milk syrup, chilling and garnishing with whipped cream and loads of strawberries.
SOLD! π
I make the king Arthurβs strawberry filled mousse angel food cake every year. Itβs so elegant and can be made ahead and frozen. I make many of your recipes, pot roast, chocolate pound cake, and king cake to name a few. Off topic but thank you for that kitchen reorganizing article. I really needed that inspiration!