Tres Leche Cake - A delicious dessert recipe shared by Nina Cristanacce from Lightfoot Kitchen, Bangor.

Part of the menu at the Chilli Festival Evening BBQ on Saturday 9 September. This dessert is a sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk. The cake is popular throughout Latin America. Tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles.

Ingredients

•    flavourless oil, for the tin
•    4 eggs, separated
•    200g caster sugar
•    1 tsp vanilla essence
•    200g plain flour
•    1 tsp baking powder 
•    100ml milk
•    410g can evaporated milk
•    200ml sweetened condensed milk
•    300ml double cream
•    2 tbsp icing sugar

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly oil and line the base and sides of a 20cm square cake tin.

Put the egg whites in a large bowl with a pinch of salt. Beat with an electric hand whisk until foamy, about 3 mins. Keep mixing while you add 150g of the sugar, a spoonful at a time, until thick and glossy.

In another bowl, mix the egg yolks, remaining sugar and vanilla (no need to clean the beaters first) for 2 mins, or until pale and foamy. Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the egg yolks, and use a spatula to fold everything together.  

 Add a large spoonful of egg white to the cake mix, beat together to loosen the mixture, then gently fold through the remaining egg whites with a large metal spoon (being careful not to over-stir so you don’t knock out too much air), until you have a smooth batter.

Pour into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 40-45 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Mix together the evaporated milk, condensed milk and 3 tbsp of the cream.

Leave the cake to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then ease a knife around the sides. Poke holes over the surface with a skewer, then pour over half the milk mixture. After 5 mins or so, most of it should have soaked into the cake. Leave for another 5 mins, then transfer to a plate and pour over some of the remaining milk until it starts to leak a little. (Any leftover milk that won’t soak into the cake can be served on the side.) Leave to cool.

Whip the remaining cream and icing sugar together until holding soft peaks. Spread the cream over the cake. Can be made and chilled a day ahead. Serve in squares with any remaining soaking milk.

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