Dominican Tres Leches Cake Recipe: How To

Last Updated on December 26, 2023

Today, we’re going to be looking at a Dominican Tres Leches cake recipe. Making an authentic tres leches cake is the purpose of this post and hopefully, we can achieve it. You’ll likely already know what a tres leches cake is, as it’s a super common dessert. Let’s take a look at why this dessert is so popular in the US, especially.

What Is A Dominican Tres Leches Cake?

Tres leches translate to three kinds of milk in English. This is because the base ingredients once you have the sponge cake are evaporated milk, heavy cream, and condensed milk. It’s full of airy bubbles, very light, and utterly delicious. It usually has a cloud of frosting on top, which makes it even more irresistible.

Ingredients In A Dominican Tres Leches Cake

The ingredients in a tres leches cake can vary depending on where you buy your tres leches cake from. However, the most common ingredients are:

• cake base (eggs, flour, sugar, butter, etc.)
• evaporated milk
• condensed milk
• heavy cream
• frosting
• vanilla flavoring

Nutritional Information Of Dominican Tres Leches Cake

One piece of tres leches cake holds the following nutritional value:

Dominican Tres Leches Cake Recipe

Now we’re going to look at how to make tres leches cake Dominican style. This Tres Leches Cake recipe has been adapted from Dominican Cooking. Let’s take a look at how to make it.

Ingredients

The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are:

For preparing the pan:

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour

For the batter:

• 3 medium eggs (yolks and whites separated)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 3/4 stick of (room temp) butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 1 1/4 cup of evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup of skim milk
• 3/4 cup of condensed milk
• 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of powdered white sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cream cheese
• fruit for decoration (strawberries or cherries is ideal)

Step-by-step

Now all you need to do is:

Step 1: Prepare the pan

Preheat your oven to 350F. Using the butter and flour, grease and flour your baking pan so it’s ready for the cake. Add the flour and baking powder to a bowl and sift. Set to one side once completed.

Step 2: Whip the whites

Using a whisk, or electric mixer, add the whites of your eggs only and combine until you have achieved stiff peaks. Ensure you start the mixer on low if you’re using one. Add half the sugar and whisk again. Once shiny, the egg white mixture is ready.

Step 3: Make the batter

In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks only with the butter. Now use the remaining half of the sugar and mix well. Only stop mixing when you have achieved a fluffy mixture.

This may take at least five minutes to reach this consistency. Drop in the vanilla extract. Now grab your sifted flour mixture and add to your fluffy mixture gradually.

You’ll want to do this in at least three parts. Do not add more flour until the previous batch of flour has been combined. You will leave with something thicker than batter, but not quite a dough.

Step 4: Add the whites

Now add 1/3 of the egg whites and combine into the batter mix gradually. Now add the next 1/3 of the whites and fold. And repeat until all of the egg whites have been used. Now you should have a much smoother batter, that will look more like traditional cake batter.

Step 5: Bake

Now it’s time to bake your cake. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and place it in the center of your oven for around 30 minutes. To check whether your cake is cooked, insert a toothpick or a skewer into the center of the cake, and it should come out clean. Be sure to let the cake cool before you remove it from the baking pan, and remove the crust.

Step 6: Soaking

Grab a bowl and mix the evaporated milk, skimmed milk, condensed milk, and vanilla extract. Once you’ve made your milk mixture, you’ll need to pour the mixture over the cake and leave it to a soak for a few hours; ideally in the refrigerator.

Step 7: Prepare the topping

While the cake is soaking in the milk mixture, you can prepare the topping. It’s best to chill your bowl in the freezer for around 15 minutes before you make your topping. Add the whipping cream to the cold bowl and beat until peaks start to take place. Now’s the time to add the sugar and cream cheese. Mix well until the peaks are firm. Be sure to not overmix.

Step 8: Garnish and enjoy

Now add your whipped cream to the top of your cake and decorate it any way you wish, with the fruits of your choice – strawberries are the ideal option. Once decorated, place in the fridge, and for best results, eat the cake within the first 24-48 hours. Enjoy!

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you to create the perfect Dominican tres leches cake recipe. It’s worth noting that this is an incredibly sweet cake, and it does take a few hours to complete, but it’s worthy of the extra time and effort, as it’s absolutely delicious.

Do you know of any other Dominican tres leches cake recipes? Or do you know of any other tips and tricks to ensure that you make the best tres leches cake? If so, please feel free to let me know in the comments below. Sharing is caring!

Read more about Puerto Rican Guava Cake Recipe: How To.

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