Cafe con Tres Leches Cake

We recently had some family move away from Texas. For our little going-away gathering, it seemed only fitting to serve dinner and dessert with a little Tex-Mex flair.

Tres Leches is a fabulous cake all on its own. And in the grand scheme of cakes, it's super easy to prepare. That said, I like to change it up from the traditional sweet vanilla cake. If you've been following along, perhaps you've tried my Pistachio Tres Leches Cake. This go-around my sister-in-law served as my inspiration... she absolutely loves coffee, and I was tickled pink when I realized I could refer to this recipe as "Cafe con Tres Leches." So I knew I had to bring this cake to life!

The recipe starts with a basic vanilla flavored sponge. In fact, the cake is prepared simply with a bowl, whisk and a few common ingredients. After baking, the sponge is thoroughly soaked with a sweet milk mixture flavored with a heaping spoonful of instant espresso powder. Any good Tres Leches of course needs a topping. This recipe calls for piles of fluffy whipped cream and a few decorative chocolate curls.

Now you've got your after dinner coffee and cake all rolled into one!

Cafe con Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

·       3 eggs

·       1 cup sugar

·       1 ½ cup flour

·       2 tsp baking powder

·       ¾ tsp salt

·       ½ cup milk

·       2 tsp vanilla extract

For the milk mixture

·       12oz evaporated milk

·       14oz sweetened condensed milk

·       ½ cup whole milk

·       ½ tsp vanilla extract

·       2 tsp instant espresso powder

For the topping

·       2 cups heavy cream

·       6 tbsp powdered sugar

·       2 tbsp sugar

·       1 tsp vanilla extract

·       Dark chocolate bar, optional

Preheat oven to 350F.

For the cake…whisk together the eggs and sugar vigorously in the bottom of a large mixing bowl until frothy and pale yellow in color. Sift over the flour, baking powder and salt. Begin to whisk the flour into the egg mixture. Combine the milk and vanilla extract. Pour the milk mixture into the batter and whisk to combine.

Grease a 13x9 baking pan with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for no more than 30 minutes.

Once the cake has cooled slightly, prepare the milk mixture. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and vanilla. Once combined, whisk in the expresso powder until fully dissolved.

Using a toothpick, prick the surface of the cake. Pour about one-third of the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Allow the milk mixture to absorb. Repeat until all the milk has been absorbed into the cake. Chill the cake in the fridge.

To prepare the whipped cream… combine the cream, sugars, and vanilla in the bowl of a standmixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks form.

Once the cake is chilled, spoon the whipped cream over the top of the cake. Smooth into an even layer. If desired, decorate the top of the cake with chocolate shavings. Run a vegetable peeler along the edge of the chocolate bar over the top of the cake.  

Chill until ready to serve.

Serves 12

Gluten Free Friendly!

I had greatest success with Better Batter or Cup4Cup gluten free flour blends.