Coffee Tres Leches Cake

Truth be told, I don’t like drinking milk. I always have milk at home to add to my coffee, and I use it a lot in cooking and baking. I also prefer my coffee hot. But somehow the idea of a cold dessert pudding-cake that is soaked in coffee and milk, I am all in! If you ever imagine what an iced-coffee would be like in cake form, this would be it!

The cake part is easy to make. It is a very light, airy sponge. Perfect for soaking up the milky coffee. It starts by separating the eggs and whipping the yolks and the whites separately until both are light and airy. Now, you might know where this is going. Yes, the idea of folding egg whites into the batter might seem scary and tricky. I say, fear not! Just stay calm and gentle, and all is going to be well.

The tres leches part of the cake is a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk. If you know me, you know that all the ingredients must be full-fat, please. Because this is a coffee tres leches, I add strong coffee or espresso to the mix; and because the combination works beautifully too, a little bit of dark rum. You could use coffee liquor as well or bourbon, etc. But if you want to keep this pudding cake alcohol free, I will not hold it against you.

This is great dessert to have on a hot summer’s day and it keeps well in the fridge for several days though I doubt it will last that long.

Stay safe and healthy everyone, x.

Coffee Tres Leches Cake

Makes 12 slices

For the cake:

• 5 eggs, separate the yolks and whites
• 200 gr caster sugar, separated into 2 bowls of 100 gr
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 125 gr plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• A pinch of salt

For the coffee soak:

• 300 ml sweetened condensed milk
• 300 ml evaporated milk
• 100 ml whole milk
• 60 ml strong coffee or espresso
• 30 ml dark rum, optional

For the topping:

• 300 ml double cream
• 50 gr powder sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1–2 tablespoons cocoa powder, optional
• 30 gr grated dark chocolate, optional

In two large bowls, start by separating the eggs. Using a free-standing or hand-held mixer, whisk the egg whites until medium peak forms. With the mixer running, gradually add 100 gr of the sugar, a tablespoon at a time until what essentially is a meringue now, is stiff and glossy. You should not be able to feel the sugar granules by the end of the mixing. Set aside.

Again, using the mixer, whisk the egg yolks with another 100 gr of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla until it has tripled in volume. In baking lament, it should get to the ‘ribbon stage’. The visible signs of this stage are a lightened, pale colour and noticeable thickness. When you lift up your whisk and make a figure ‘8’, it should not disappear immediately.

In a bowl, or you can do this directly on top of the yolk mixture, sieve the flour, baking powder and salt. Then give this a mix again to incorporate. The mixture will be a little stiff at this stage.

Take a third of the meringue and beat it into the yolk and flour mixture. No need to be gentle yet here. This sacrificial meringue will enlighten the yolk mixture and make it easier to fold in the rest of the meringue later.

Now, get in your zen. Add another third of the egg whites, and using a spatula or a large metal spoon, it’s time to fold. To fold, simply slice straight down through the middle of the whites until you hit the bottom of the bowl. Then gently scoop up the batter and fold it over the mixture. Give the bowl a quarter-turn and repeat the process.

Add the rest of the egg whites and repeat the process. At the end the mixture should be smooth, light, and airy.

Lightly grease your baking tin and pour in the batter as closely as possible to the tin. We’re trying to keep as much air as possible in the batter. Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 25–30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Then let cool for a few minutes.

To make the coffee soak, simply mix all the ingredients into a large jug and set it aside. Using a skewer or a piece of spaghetti, make lots of holes onto the cake. This will help the soak get into the cake.

Pour the coffee soak all over the surface of the cake. Do this slowly and patiently. The is a lot of liquid, but have faith, the cake will happily drink it all up. I admit it doesn’t look pretty right now, but it will all be covered the the whipped cream and no one will notice. Put the cake in the fridge for at least 6 hours or even better, overnight.

When the cake is nice and cold, take it out from the fridge and set it to one side while you make the whipped cream. In a bowl, whisk the double cream, powder sugar and vanilla and whisk this until medium peaks. Slather the whipped cream all over the cake. Level the cream using an off-set spatula or the back of a spoon.

Before serving, dust the top with cocoa powder or grate some dark chocolate all over. Enjoy!