This cake. . .
. . . will make. . .
. . . even the most adamant cake hater. . .
. . . eat. . .
. . . their words.
This is no ordinary cake.
Black and White Mini Tres Leches Cakes
Adapted from My Sweet Mexico by Fany Gerson
Cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 4 eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Tres Leches
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
- 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Filling
- 1-2 cups Fresh berries
- 8 oz dark chocolate
- 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8" baking pan (round or square) and place a piece of parchment in the bottom. Grease the parchment and lightly flour the whole pan, making sure to tap out any extra.
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and 6 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, oil, and vanilla until completely incorporated and set aside.
In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they begin to thicken and add the remainder of your granulated sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the egg yolks and mix well. Gently fold a quarter of the egg whites in after that. Repeat this process until everything is combined making sure to finish off with the egg whites.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the center bounces back when touched or when a toothpick comes out clean. About 35-40 minutes. When the cake is done allow to cool slightly before turning it onto a wire rack and cooling all the way.
Once the cake is completely cool, you can decide if you would like to make one large cake or cut it to make a bunch of mini cakes. Since I wanted to make two different frostings I chose to cut my cake into smaller circles. When you have the shapes you'd like, split them each horizontally and place them in a deep pan. On the stove top, make the tres leches by first combining the evaporated milk, cream and vanilla. Heat, stirring constantly, until it just begins to bubble. Take it off the heat and whisk in the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the warm mixture over the cake(s) making sure they are fully saturated. Refrigerate for an hour or more.
The first time I ever had Tres Leches cake it had a beautiful dark chocolate ganache. This recipe called for a whipped cream frosting which sounded delightful, but I just couldn't let go of the chocolate so I decided to make both.
To make the whipped cream frosting, whip 1 cup of the heavy cream until thick and spreadable, add the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Set aside.
In a double boiler (or in a metal bowl over a simmering pot of water) melt the dark chocolate with cream, stirring occasionally. If you (like me) added the cream after the chocolate was already melted and your ganache turned into a lumpy pile of grainy chocolate, don't worry! You can save it by tossing the whole thing in the food processor and slowly adding more cream until it comes back into shape. Thank you internet for teaching me that trick!
When your frostings are ready, take your shapes and spread a layer of cream or chocolate on every other one. Slice fruit fruit and place it on top of the frosting. Add your second layer of cake and finish off frosting with the alternate frosting from the filling (cream if you used chocolate, chocolate if you used cream). Top with berries and refrigerate.
This cake is so moist and perfectly not-too-sweet-but-just-sweet-enough that it will win over cake haters everywhere. I know, I've witnessed this first hand.
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With the Kids:
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Happy Baking!
~ Sarah
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*Last time in Recipes: The Empty Fridge
