When I came to the US amongst other things I missed eating what we call ‘Pastries’ in India. Desserts like pineapple pastry, Black forest cake, they all tasted different than what I was used to. So when I my husband brought a piece of this cake, I was not to keen on trying it. He insisted and said, ” I guarantee you will love it”. He was right, very first bit and I fell in love with this cake. There was something in it that reminded of the Indian desserts I am very fond of, that cake was ‘Tres Leches cake’

Tres leches cake is a classic mexican dessert, which translates to ‘Three Milk Cake’. Here I share a recipe that is actually Quatro Leches Cake.I also make an Indian version of this cake, I love it. If you want to try here is a link for ‘Thandai Leches Cake’

Ingredients

For the sponge cake

4 eggs at room temperature separated

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp Vanilla essence     1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift flour with baking powder & salt.

Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.

Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form.

Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.

Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively.

So it will be something like- 1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup flour

 

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.

I also put a parchment paper for extra ease.

Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.

Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean. 

Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins.

Now the fun part…

Milk goodness mixture

1 14 oz can of condensed milk

1 can of evaporated milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix all the liquid ingredients.

Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume.

Poke a lot of holes in the cake

Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.

Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

As you can see the entire amount of liquid is all absorbed.

Frosting

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of powdered sugar ( optional)

Whip the cream with or without the sugar until soft peaks form.

 

Now the bestest part

Serve yourself a nice big slice. Turn some nice music on. Sit down and enjoy the cake.

You can top the slice with fresh fruit. I like it with strawberries, I feel they add a nice tang that helps cut through the rich sweet, milky cake.

This recipe inspired by a couple of chefs on food network, Alton brown and Marcella.