tres leches cake, major failure

kittyloo · ‎03-11-2010

so it's dd birthday. big 17. she wants a tres leches cake.

ok, no problem. google several receipes, and they are pretty similar.

get the ingredients together, and prepare my 9 x 13 pan.

i look at the batter in the bowl, and i'm like no way.

re-read the receipe. have i left out anything? are my measurements correct. check,

barely covered the bottom of the pan. i ended up baking it anyway, and as i suspected, finished product was like 1/2 inch tall. i guess i can break it up and put in parfait cups with pudding and whipped cream.

so what to do now?? i ended up combining 2 boxed chocolate mixes, (cause everyone knows how they short shot the boxes) and it came out looking good.

on to the "milk" part of the receipe. Not liking the measurements of that either.

4 cups total of the mixed milks seems like alot to dump over the cake.

i think i'm going to read a couple of different receipes to see what the ratio's are for the milks.

sigh. still have to make homemade pizza dough for dinner.

AuntG · ‎03-09-2010

Hope your pizza turns out for the birthday girl. Turning the cake into parfait should be fine.

Pook · ‎03-20-2010

@kittyloo I have never had any luck with a tres leche cakes I tried but the one that looked good was a dissappointment in taste. I'm sure the pizza will come out great.

adeleag · ‎03-13-2010

My favorite recipe for tres leche cake is Alton Brown's from the Food Network. I make it all the time and is often a request from my family and friends. Delicious. The batter amount is much less than you would think but after you bake and add the liquids, it expands.

adeleag · ‎03-13-2010

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

I's ask @house_cat . She's the baker.

I taught Foods but I've only had this cake once and never made it. What, was the source if I may ask?

deepwaterdotter · ‎03-09-2010

This recipe comes from an older issue of Cook's Country. I made it a few years ago for my dad's birthday substituting coconut milk for a cup of the cream in the milk mixture (his favorite flavor). I made the cake a day before frosting and serving:

14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

12-oz can evaporated milk

2 cups heavy cream

4 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

8 tbsp butter

1 cup whole milk

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

3 tbsp corn syrup

Microwave sweetened condensed milk in big bowl tightly covered with plastic wrap on low power until thickened. Stir and replace plastic every 3-5 minutes. Slowly whisk in evaporated milk, 1 cup cream, and 1 tsp vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Heat butter and milk over low heat in saucepan until butter is melted. Let cool off heat.

Beat eggs in big bowl with electric mixer. Slowly beat in sugar. Beat mixture on medium-high until thick and glossy, 5-7 minutes. Slowly mix in butter mixture and 2 tsp vanilla on low speed. Beat in flour in 3 additions on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape batter into greased and floured 9x13" baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees until toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.

Poke holes with skewer in top of cake at 1/2" apart. Slowly pour milk mixture over cake and let sit for 15 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove cake from refrigerator 30 minutes before frosting. Beat 1 cup cream, corn syrup, and 1 tsp vanilla with electric mixer until forming soft peaks, 1-2 minutes. Frost and serve.

corita · ‎08-20-2012

So I live in the land of 'tres leches' cake. Every mama and abuelita has a personal recipe.

Most people love it; every one I know does!! But it is

always too wet and too sweet for me.

I remember that it does expand when all the milks are added.

colliemom4 · ‎09-08-2010

I've seen it in a box mix in the grocery store. I've never purchased it though. I believe it was made by Duncan Hines. I was actually surprised to see it. Sorry about your cake. I've had cake fails too.