This morning I posted a photo and short review of the cake I made yesterday, a Tres Leches Cake from Chowhound.com. The cake was very good, but it didn’t have a very tight crumb and seemed to have more eggs than usual. Todd loved it, but there's going to be some tres leches madness around here because I'm going to test a bunch of new ones!
Most tres leches cakes have a very basic sponge cake base made with whipped egg whites, yolks, sugar and flour. Some have the addition of milk, vanilla extract or oil and some are even enhanced with cake mix. Some are made with ground almonds. The "leches" can be played around with as well. Usually tres leches cakes have 12 oz evaporated milk, 14 oz condensed milk and about a cup of cream, but the cake I made yesterday called for coconut instead of cream and a cake I made a few years ago used sour cream. I haven’t made it in a while, but the sour cream version was very good.
Here are a few promising cakes.
Tres Leches Cake with cake flour and oil – the oil in the base must make this one a little softer.
Here’s a 5-star Tres Leches Cake from Emeril. It has milk in the batter and meringue on top
SF Gate Cake – This one seems to have a lot of eggs, but still proportionately fewer eggs than the coconut tres leches I made yesterday. I like the berry sauce idea.
The base cake for this Food and Wine Tres Leches is similar to the Chowhound cake, but the technique is different. You cut the cake up and set it in the pan with the soaking mixture.
Betty’s Tres Leches – 199 people don’t mind the cake mix enhancement
Cuisinart Stand Mixer Contest Winning Coconut Tres Leches is also made with a little cake mix.
A pretty basic but highly praised cake from Allrecipes
Very old Houston Chronicle Tres Leches Cake made with sour cream and meringue. I made a variation on this one years ago and I remember it as being excellent. Need to make again.
The first tres leches recipe I ever made. Loved it! Didn't mind the cake mix one bit.
Lo says
I made the Emeril one and it was wayyyy too sweet 🙁 it seems like 2 cups sugar is a bit much. I'm going to try one with sour cream because I like the more sour taste in the tres leches.
Lena says
I baked my own tres leches cake for my birthday last year, and it was just a giant headache. I used the Allrecipes recipe, and may have slightly overbaked the cake, because half of the milk mixture wouldn't soak in after I poured it and just sat on top of the cake. It still tasted pretty good, but unless there's a foolproof recipe for this (which I have heard there isn't, since it's a pretty challenging cake for beginners), I'd be reluctant to try it again.
Karen says
This is the one I have bookmarked, haven't made it yet and I didn't compare it to all the ones you listed, but just in case you need yet another one to try...
http://justbaking.net/2007/03/19/insanely-good-tres-leches-cake
Shannon W. says
Hi,
I've made the one from Emeril. It was really very good. I had a little trouble removing it from the pan but other than that it was good.
Debbie says
Love tres leches cake! Thanks for the links to all the cakes you listed. I think I will try the first one you had made. Sounds like a good one and fairly simple. Love the coconut one too!
Heather says
I really like the Cook's Country Tres Leche Cake. I have the recipe at home that I can type up if you decide you would like to try it.
Josh says
I love these kind of obsessions they are the best. Nothing better than cake! Cake power!
Anna says
SP, thanks! I had to use Google to figure out what "Rompope" was, but now that I know I'm adding this recipe to the list. What was really funny was that several Epicurious reviewers said to just use a plain old non-pudding cake mix for the base.
Rita, tell your sister hi.
clumbsycookie says
You can make one of each and send it my way. I'll offer honest feedback ;)!
My sister is here and says hi! She'll help eat the cakes too, ahahah!
SP says
My favorite is the "Pastel des Tres Leches con Rompope" featured in Bon Appetit in the May 2003 Mexico addition. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Three-Milk-Cake-with-Rompope-108072
snooky doodle says
i love tres leches cake. interesting I have to try the one with coconut 🙂
Katrina says
I love it when you "go mad" for certain things like this! 😉
Janell says
I live in Mexico and this is my favorite cake! Since the altitude here is 7500ft I have a horrible time making cakes. They make them so good here! Thanks for all your great recipes!
Louise says
Every Douglas Rodriguez recipe I've made has been great. Here's one for Peach, another for Banana (which I know only you like), and Chocolate. I've made the Chocolate. 🙂
http://www.starchefs.com/DRodriguez_peachtres.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=92yA62pNgDAC&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=Douglas+Rodriguez+tres+leches+recipe&source=bl&ots=PQw2BN53Uo&sig=sP73Lq7b5zx6VU5_bHbCnryXV7E&hl=en&ei=5_4vSvzQCIrCM-jlkfkJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#PPA141,M1