Its been a long long time , hasn’t it ? I wish I had a better excuse than “Life s kept me busy ” but I really don’t and that’s that !
I considered making my big “comeback” post – a unique or masterpiece dessert , but than I settled down doing what feels best to me – familiar ,simple and comforting !
I am a big fan of Tres Leches Cake – a Mexican dessert where a sponge cake is soaked with a mixture of 3 milks (usually evaporated milk , condensed milk and cream ) and then topped with whipped cream. It is moist and flavourful while still fancy and celebratory without the fuss of multiple layers and icing woes.
I have a Tres Leches Cake recipe on the blog since eons and the variations possible on this popular cake are manyfold. I already have a Rasmalai version – do check out this Indian spin on the Mexican fave . This time around , I used some strawberries to try yet another take- the strawberry Tres Leches Cake.
I used the same base cake that I did in the Rasmalai Tres Leches cake ( hey, if it aint broken!)- a simple egg based sponge cake that has no oil or butter . A very versatile recipe , you can check out how to make it in this video (please subscribe to my YouTube channel while you are at it , where I am even more irregular than on the blog but hoping to change that soon!) . If you’d rather bake a round cake or use fewer eggs , you can go with this sponge cake as well. If you want to keep the eggs completely out , you can bake this eggless vanilla cake that is aaaawesome !
The soaking milks include a strawberry milk , sweetened condensed milk and cream . Avoid the temptation to drink it up and use it only for soaking ! To ensure that your cake soaks well , you can poke holes all over your cake with a skewer or even slice off a thin layer of the upper crust off before soaking. Like most such cakes, this one tastes best once it has rested up and soaks up all that berrilicousness!
I know no wheel was reinvented here – but I do like how small twists in the same recipes can give you a range of excellent desserts ! In this case , the addition of the strawberries makes the sweet cake a little fresher and slightly tangier and all sorts of yummy !
Strawberry Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
For the cake :
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 100 grams or 1/2 cup castor or granulated sugar
- 125 grams or 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 120 ml or 1/2 cup whipping or heavy cream cold
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar
- 2-3 chopped strawberries
For the soaking mixture:
- 200 grams strawberries or 1/2 cup strawberry puree
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 120 ml or 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 60 ml or 1/4 cup cream
- 60 ml or 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
To make the cake :
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Butter and flour a 8 inch square pan , line the bottom with parchment.
- Separate the eggs .
- Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a bowl, keep aside.
- Beat the whites using an electric mixer or whisk until stiff peaks form. This takes 2-3 minutes.
- Add the yolks little by little while continuing beating.
- Once the yolks are incorporated , add the sugar one tablespoon at a time while continuing beating.
- Beat for a minute or two after the last of the sugar is added.
- Beat in the vanilla.
- Sift in the flour- baking powder mixture on top of the batter.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour until you can’t see flour anymore .
- Immediately pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake at 180 C / 350 F for 25- 30 minutes until the cake springs back when touched and the edges are coming away from the pan sides.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes . Remove and cool completely on wire rack.
To make the soaking milk mixture :
- Puree the strawberries along with the sugar and milk in a processor or blender
- Pass through a strainer to get about 3/4 cup strawberry milk.
- Mix with the cream and sweetened condensed milk
- You can add more milk to make it thinner or more condensed milk to make it sweeter.
To assemble :
- Poke holes all over the cake .
- Pour the strawberry milk mixture all over the cake slowly and evenly.
- Whip up the cream with the sugar (for the topping ) until you have soft to firm peaks .
- Spread the whipped cream over the soaked cake
- Garnish with chopped strawberries (optional )
Notes
Do try it before the strawberries run out (which is quite soon in India as its the wee end of February already) or use frozen berries instead!
Do send me ideas of recipes so that I can try more creative / reinvented cakes and bakes !!!
Some more strawberry berry recipes from the blog that you might want to try :
