Tres leches cake
A tres leches cake, or pastel de tres leches (from Spanish, "three milk cake"), or pan tres leches ("three milk bread"), is a sponge cake—in some recipes, a butter cake—soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.
When butter is not used, the tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.
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[edit] Popularity and origins
The cake is very popular in many parts of Latin America.[citation needed] The origins of the tres leches are disputed.[1]
The Nestlé company also claims to have helped the tres leches recipe evolve, during World War II. The idea for creating a cake soaked in a liquid is probably of European origin, as similar cakes, such as British rum cake and tiramisu from Italy, use this method.[1] In 2004, the ice cream company Häagen-Dazs for a limited time released a tres leches-flavored ice cream, containing pieces of rum-soaked tres leches in a sweet-cream ice cream.
[edit] Variations
Following the same recipe for the cake, but soaking it in a mixture of water, rum or brandy, and sugar, it is called pastel borracho (drunken cake). It is popular throughout Mexico and Central America in this form. In the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, it is common both ways but mostly popular using cream of coconut instead of condensed milk or both. As in the pastel borracho and its called bizcocho tres leches,and rum is usually added. In addition, fruit or nuts are added in some recipes, as well as many other kinds of alcohol. Cherries are most commonly used as decoration, but other fruits or berries are sometimes used instead. At some restaurants in Texas and Florida, the addition of dulce de leche creates what is known as a cuatro leches ("four milks") cake.
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Since roughly 2000, the cake has become very popular in Albania and is a widespread restaurant dessert item. It is usually sold as "tre leçe", reflecting the elimination of the final -s in colloquial southeastern Spanish. The Albanian version generally adds a layer of caramel to the top of the cake.
[edit] Popular Culture
Tres Leches has also been repeatedly referenced as an international Latina gang with origins in Guatemala. Rumor has it that it has embedded itself in the United Kingdom and its founder/leader (known as La Rita) may be located in North Carolina, USA.[citation needed]
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[edit] External links
- Tres Leches recipe Cuban version
- Tres Leches recipe Dominican version
- Tres Leches recipe Peruvian version
- Tres Leches recipe Nicaraguan version
- Tres Leches recipe Good Eats version from episode "Milk Made", aired June 6, 2007
