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Recipe Detail Page
Tres Leches Layer Cake
Spring 2020
Stacking layers and homemade toasted almond milk ups the ante on one of Mexico’s favourite desserts. I’ll admit this beauty is a project, but what a tasty one. You can spread the workout over a couple of days. Begin by making the Toasted Almond Milk (recipe follows)—just don’t drink all of it before making the cake batter and the soaking liquid. Also, that same day, make the caramelized white chocolate and ganache. If you’d rather skip the time-consuming (but easy) step of caramelizing the chocolate yourself, see the TIP below. Lastly, be sure to thoroughly chill the cake before frosting.
Serves 8
CARAMELIZED WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
2 pkgs (each 170 g) white chocolate, chopped
¾ cup (175 mL) whipping cream
Pinch salt
CAKE
Butter for buttering tins
1¾ cups (425 mL) all-purpose flour
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
2¼ tsp (11 mL) baking powder
3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1¼ cups (310 mL) sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract or paste
2/3 cup (150 mL) Toasted Almond Milk
TO ASSEMBLE
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract or paste
1 cup (250 mL) Toasted Almond Milk
1 can (150 mL) evaporated milk
¼ cup (60 mL) sweetened condensed milk
1¼ cups (310 mL) whipping cream
1 For the caramelized white chocolate ganache, preheat oven to 275°F (135°C).
2 Spread the chocolate out on a clean baking sheet and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 6 to 7 minutes, until it has the colour of peanut butter.
3 Add cream to a medium-size glass bowl and bring to a boil in the microwave; scrape warm chocolate into a bowl. Whisk until smooth, add salt and let cool. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for up to 2 days.
4 For the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter three 8-inch (20-cm) round cake tins.
5 In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate large bowl, combine eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture has quadrupled in volume, 6 to 7 minutes. Add half the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined. Add almond milk and once again beat until combined. Mix in the remaining flour mixture.
6 Divide batter between the prepared cake tins. Tip or swirl the pans to evenly distribute batter and bake in the centre of the oven for 24 to 27 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
7 Let cakes rest in tins for 15 minutes then turn out onto a large baking sheet (or 2 if necessary). Cool to room temperature.
8 To assemble, whisk together cinnamon, vanilla extract, almond milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk in a medium bowl. Using a fork, poke holes in the tops of each cake layer. Spoon the milk mixture in equal quantity over each. Let stand for 10 minutes.
9 Gently reheat the reserved white chocolate ganache in the microwave until just spreadable but not liquid. Measure out ¼ cup (60 mL) and add to a medium bowl along with the whipping cream; refrigerate.
10 Carefully transfer one of the cake layers to a serving platter or cake stand. Top with half of the remaining ganache and spread out just shy of the edge using an offset spatula. Top with another cake layer and repeat covering with the remaining ganache. Put final cake layer over top, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours.
11 When ready to serve, whip reserved cream and ganache mixture to stiff peaks. Frost the cake with cream, and serve.
Serves 8
TIP
Valrhona makes a prepared caramelized white chocolate. It’s available in small baking pellets known as fèves. These can be difficult to find, but vanillafoodcompany.ca offers 906 g bags via the web. If using, you can skip the step of caramelizing your own white chocolate and simply combine 12 oz (340 g) of the fèves with the cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let the chocolate melt, add salt and whisk until smooth. Proceed as per the remainder of the recipe.
