I’ve never been to a Southwest potluck where Tres Leches Cake wasn’t on the buffet. It’s also a very popular birthday cake, and I can find it at virtually any bakery. Tres Leches means Three Milks, because it’s a soaked sponge cake (think tiramisu) drenched in a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and evaporated milk. With an icing of whipped cream. It’s as moist as cake gets. Sweet and creamy. And every time I taste it I say “That’s a slice of milkshake on a plate.”
Just as everyone has their own special enchilada recipe, Tres Leches Cakes vary from traditional, to adding orange liqueur or rum to flavor the milks, blending in caramel, creating a custard soaking mixture, topping it with a variety of fresh sliced fruit, or a dusting of nutmeg and cinnamon (as shown.)
Milk blended with ice cream and topped with whipped cream — milkshakes are tres leches. I like to add flavor by adding in a piece of pumpkin pie for an autumn shake, or peach cobbler during the summer. For my Tres Leches Cake version I prefer vanilla caramel ribbon ice cream because adding caramel to a shake, cake, sundae, or just eating plain caramels makes my feet tap and my head forget about pretty much anything I have to but really don’t want to do.
I add a slice of vanilla cake, icing and all. This piece is from a local bakery, I love the little black specks of vanilla bean.
The cake, with 3 scoops ice cream and 1/4 cup of whole milk blend on high. For 1 or 2 minutes. If it gets thick I add a splash of milk now and then until it’s smooth and the perfect consistency where it’s thin enough to pour into a glass (with the help of a spoon) and thick enough to hold up the toppings.
This time I used cinnamon cookies with white chocolate chips. Cream filled Pirouette wafer rolls are also great. So are snickerdoodles or bizcochito. If you want to give people a hint as to what’s in the shake, a vanilla caramel cookie will work.
I’ll jump at any opportunity to break out my jar of sparkle sugar sprinkles and top it all off.
Dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg. My version of Tres Leches Cake in a glass will make four small 1-cup sized shakes, or two large. Cakey rich creamy decadence.
“I’d Order That”…..
[gmc_recipe 2520]
