Those Cakes We Like ... Are Going Loco Down In Acapulco

Actually, we're going bananas with Tres Leches Cake.

Two delicious versions of one amazing cake.

I have a tradition which I have followed every year for the past four years: In the middle of October I bake a fancy version of a Tres Leches cake. My daughter loves a Tres Leches cake for her birthday cake so much that it is practically an addiction. And she has started to spread this addiction amongst her friends, so much so that I am considering starting a Tres Leches Addicts Anonymous group. You can tell the addiction is becoming a problem when they begin dreaming about Tres Leches cakes.

Loki has always been ready for a party. Sadly for him, he does not get to enjoy Tres Leches cake.

Despite my concerns, I am here to spread the addiction by introducing you all to my twist on one of the staple cakes of Mexico. I take what is traditionally a simple soaked sponge cake, made with three different kinds of milk, and give it a little bit of French Patisserie flair. The result is a truly delicious celebration cake which manages to taste indulgent, whilst still feeling light and fresh.

A Little Slice Of History

The origins of Tres Leches cake is a little cloudy — its current form may not even have originated in Mexico as there are many Latin American countries which claim this delicious dessert as their own. I’m not going to spend forever attempting to sort out which, if any, claim of ownership to the Tres Leches cake is true, that’s a can of worms I really don’t want to be opening. Soaked cakes have been around since medieval times, developed in Europe as a way to use up stale cake and prevent it from drying out. It is this same method which led to the development of that most famous of British desserts, the Sherry Trifle. It is most likely that this creative way of avoiding food waste was brought to the Americas during colonisation and was adapted within the new colonies into what eventually became the Tres Leches cake.

On the subject of cans, it is actually the development and availability of canned evaporated and condensed milk in the 1940s which is responsible for the modern iteration of the Tres Leches cake; it is actually entirely possible that the recipe owes its origins to the development teams at companies such as Nestlé and Borden, back when the companies printed recipes on the cans to promote their products. The Tres Leches cake first appeared in Mexican and Nicaraguan recipe books in the 1970s, and by the 1980s it was appearing on the menus of restaurants such as Los Ranchos in Miami, and from there it spread to the tables of Latin American households throughout the United States of America, before finally making its way into my little kitchen in the South West of the United Kingdom.

I would usually make a Strawberries and Cream version of the Tres Leches cake for my daughter’s birthday, however this year she’s thrown me a bit of a last minute curveball and asked for a banoffee version (that’s banana and toffee, NOT banana and coffee). I’ll give you the option for making either version, because I’m nice like that. Please note that the banoffee version ideally needs to be started the day before as you’ll need to infuse the bananas into the custard overnight.

For those of you who need to count carbohydrates, be prepared for this to be a heavy one — it is a celebration cake after all. The banoffee version of this cake should serve 18-20, with a total carbohydrate count of 1051.2g, or 58.4g per slice if serving 18. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The carbohydrates will be different for the strawberry version.

Your Equipment

For the custard:

Digital kitchen scales

Large saucepan

Mixing bowls (one medium, one large)

Cling film

Sharp knife

Wooden spoon

For the cake:

Digital kitchen scales

Stand mixer with whisk attachment or large mixing bowl and electric whisk

Medium sized mixing bowl

20cm / 8 inch cake tin, preferably springform

Roll of 10cm wide cake acetate

Cake board

Piping bag

Piping nozzle (I prefer star shaped, but go with whatever you work best with)

Your Ingredients

How much milk are we using? All of it, Katie.

For the custard:

480 ml 2% / semi skimmed milk

3 very ripe medium bananas, chopped (only for the banoffee version)

1 tsp vanilla essence

4 large egg yolks

100 g sugar

25 g cornstarch / cornflour

¼ tsp salt

25g butter, softened

1 leaf of gelatin, soaked in 50 ml of cold water

For the cake:

4 large eggs, separated

200 g sugar

½ tbsp rum

200 g all-purpose / plain flour

1 tsp baking soda baking powder

100 ml 2% / semi-skimmed milk

410 g can evaporated milk

200 ml sweetened condensed milk

300 ml heavy / double cream (3tbsp for the cake, save the rest for the decoration)

For the filling and decoration:

1 can of caramel or 5 tbsp of strawberry jam

2 bananas, sliced or 225 g fresh strawberries

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar / icing sugar

50g dried banana chips (only for the banoffee version)

The Important Bit

Note: If you’re intending to make the banoffee version of this cake then you’ll need to start your custard the evening before you bake the cake as the bananas will need time to infuse into the milk. If you are making the strawberry version, do not start making your custard until you have made your cake.

Place your milk and 3 chopped bananas (if using) into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until the milk is almost boiling. If you are making the banoffee version, take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool, then cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight to allow the banana to infuse into the milk.

The next day is time to start the cake. Heat your oven to 350 F/180 C and lightly oil an 8 inch cake tin. Using your stand mixer or electric whisk, whisk the egg whites (4) until they are foamy (roughly 3 minutes), then keep whisking while you add 150g of the sugar to the mix, one spoonful at a time. Keep whisking until the egg white mixture is thick and glossy.

Nice and thick, and glossy.

In another bowl, mix your egg yolks (4) with the remaining sugar (50g) and vanilla essence (1 tbsp) until the mixture is pale and foamy, this should take about 2 minutes with an electric whisk. Add the flour (200g), baking soda (1 tsp) and milk (100 ml) to the egg yolk mix and use a spatula to fold them together.

Make sure you whisk your egg yolks until they are foamy.

Add a large spoonful of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mix and beat together to loosen the mixture. Add the rest of the egg white mix and fold together using a metal spoon, be careful not to over mix or you risk knocking out too much air.

Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.

Pour the cake batter into your cake tin and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. You can check it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake, if the skewer comes out clean it is done, if not then return the cake to the oven for another 5 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

In another bowl or a jug, mix together the evaporated milk (410g), condensed milk (200ml) and heavy cream (3 tbps, save the rest for the topping).

Remove the cake from the tin and slice it in half horizontally so that you have 2 equally sized cakes.

Cut a length of cake acetate which is long enough to encircle the cake with a small overlap, place this inside the cake tin and then return one of your cake halves to the tin and re-secure the tin.

Pour roughly a third of the milk mixture over the cake which you have returned to the cake tin and allow it to soak in while you finish making your custard.

Reheat the milk before straining it through a sieve to remove the banana. If you are making the strawberry version, you can just heat the milk to almost boiling point.

While your milk is boiling (after the bananas have been removed) whisk together your egg yolks (4), sugar (100g), cornstarch (25g) and salt (¼ tsp) in a medium mixing bowl until they form a smooth paste.

Add 2 tbsp of your hot milk to the egg yolk mixture, you’ll need to be whisking it vigorously while you do this to prevent the egg yolks from cooking. Add the remaining milk mixture, keep whisking while you do this.

Soak your gelatin in 50 ml of cold water.

Once you’ve added all the milk to the egg yolk mixture, pour it back into the saucepan and heat the custard over a medium heat until it becomes smooth and thick. Remove your custard from the heat and add the butter (25g) and vanilla extract (1 tsp) and mix thoroughly. Remove your gelatin sheet from the water and squeeze out as much water as possible. Add the gelatin to the custard and whisk thoroughly.

Spread a thick layer of caramel over the top of the soaked cake, or use strawberry jam (5 tbsp) if making the strawberry version.

Place some sliced bananas on their sides around the inside of the cake acetate on top of your soaked cake, you want little circles of banana to be visible if you were to look at the finished cake from the side. Now pour in the custard, mixing more slices of banana through into the custard layer. Place into the fridge to set for an hour. Alternatively, use strawberry halves to surround the outer edge of the cake if you’re making the strawberry version, and do not add more strawberries to the custard, instead place a layer of sliced strawberries on top of the custard before putting it into the fridge to set.

Build your cake layer by layer and then spread caramel (or cream) over the top.

Remove the cake from the fridge and place the remaining cake half on top with the cut side facing upwards. Pour another third of the milk mixture over the top of the cake and leave it to soak in.

Clean out your mixing bowl or stand mixer and then add your remaining heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar (2 tbsp) and vanilla essence to the bowl. Whisk together until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Carefully remove the cake from the tin and place it in the center of your cake board. Gently peel off the acetate., your custard should be nicely set and hold its shape. Carefully spread some caramel over the top of your cake, or use some of the cream if you are making the strawberry version.

Your cake is now finished and ready to be enjoyed.

Use your piping bag and piping nozzle to pipe around the edges of the cake and in the center. Place banana chips or whole strawberries, depending on which version of the cake you are making, around the edge and in the centre.

If you’re making the banoffee cake, you could warm up the remaining caramel and drizzle this over the top of the cake. For the strawberry version, you could use a little cocoa powder to dust the top of the cake, or consider using chocolate sprinkles or drizzling some melted dark chocolate across the top of the cake.

Place your finished cake back into the fridge until you’re ready to serve it, it will need to be eaten within three days. If you save the remaining milk mixture, this makes a delicious sauce to drizzle over the slices of cake when you serve them.

If you decide to make this cake, well done — it’s one of the more complicated cakes in my repertoire. Cut yourself a nice, generous slice and enjoy it with a drink of your choice. I’ll see you next month with a fruity recipe for the Festive period.

Until then,

Share love, share joy, share cakes.

And don’t forget to tip your Wonkette if you can afford to.