Horchata Tres Leche
a cozy, fall spin on a classic Latin dessert
Growing up in South Florida, we ate a lot of tres leche. There was a little restaurant in our town, El Mariachi, where we spent many weeknight evenings growing up. It marketed itself as a Spanish and Mexican restaurant which meant there were both nachos and churrasco on the menu, and my family was on a first name basis with the wait staff. The food was good, fairly standard for a casual Mexican restaurant, but the desserts were great. Their flan was creamy, not spongey and their fried ice cream was huge, covered in crunchy nuts and drowned in chocolate fudge. Looking back though, I’m convinced that we only frequented El Mariachi as much as we did because my mom loved their tres leche.
Since then, I have had a lot of tres leche. Some of it better than the slices at El Mariachi, but theirs will always hold a little place in my heart. My mom also quickly discovered how much she loved quatro leche (tres leche with the addition of dulce de leche), and it’s possible she’s sampled all of the tres and quatro leche that theSouth Florida suburbs have to offer.
In the spirit of nostalgia, I wanted to use the sponge method to create a classic tres leche like the one I remember from El Mariachi. In the spirit of being myself, I knew that I needed to put a little creative twist on it and since we’re settling into cozy season, the horchata tres leche was born.
what is tres leche?
If you’re new to the tres leche game, at it’s simplest, it’s a soaked sponge cake. Tres leche translates to three milks in English and so of course, it utilizes three different types of milk—evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk.
Originally developed as a stand-in for fresh milk, evaporated milk is a shelf-stable product made by heating milk so that around 60% of the water content evaporates. It’s then homogenized, canned, and heat sterilized for shelf stability. Because much of the water content has been removed, evaporated milk is thicker and richer than fresh milk.
Sweetened condensed milk is made in a process similar to evaporated milk, where the fresh milk is cooked/heated to remove water content and therefore condense the milk. In sweetened condensed milk, however, sugar is also added, which thickens the milk further. Sweetened condensed milk is very thick, almost like glue, and very sweet and it is used in a variety of baking recipes. A quick side note: a can of sweetened condensed milk can be simmering in a pot of water for 2-3 hours and it becomes dulce de leche. You can read about how to make that here.
Tres leche begins with a classic sponge cake (almost always baked in a 9x13” dish). After baking, the cake gets poked all over and then soaked in a medley of the three milks above. Often, the cake is topped with a sweetened whipped topping like meringue or marshmallow fluff. If you’re interested in the history of tres leche, this is a really interesting read.
about the recipe
For this recipe, I’m lightly adapting. The sponge cake gets soaked in homemade horchata (still using all three milks, don’t worry!) and then because I’ve always found traditional tres leche topping a little sweet, we’re using a simple homemade whipped cream.
Horchata is a creamy, spiced Mexican beverage made by soaking rice and spices in water overnight until the rice has softened. Then, the water is drained off and the softened rice and aromatics are blended with evaporated milk until smooth and creamy. This felt like the perfect pairing for tres leche’s fluffy sponge.
A little practical note: Making tres leche is not difficult, but it does need a little bit of hands-off soaking time. For this recipe, I made the sponge cake and began soaking my rice for the horchata on day #1. Then on day #2, I made the horchata soak and soaked the cake for a few hours before topping and serving.
horchata tres leche
makes one 9x13” cake, serves 12-16
Ingredients:
for the cake:
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups (240 g) flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup (250 g) granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup (75 g) whole milk
for the horchata soak:
1 1/2 cups white rice
2 sticks cinnamon
1 vanilla bean, split
3 1/2 cups water
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1 (16 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (8 oz) whole milk
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup (30-60 g)powdered sugar
Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
Procedure:
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set them aside.
Place egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin whipping on medium speed. When the whites are frothy, stream in half of the sugar. Increase the mixer speed and whip on medium high speed until medium peaks form. Transfer the whipped egg whites to a large bowl and set them aside.
In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and remaining half of the sugar. Whip on medium high speed until doubled in size. The egg yolks should be pale in color and thick enough that a ribbon forms when the whisk is lifted from the bowl.
Turn the mixer on low speed and add the milk, mixing until just combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the whipped egg yolks and gently fold with a rubber spatula, just until no dry streaks remain.
Fold in the whipped egg whites in two additions, mixing gently as to deflate the batter as little as possible.
Transfer the cake batter to an ungreased, 9x13” baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cake is set and golden brown. Let cool completely and then use a knife or skewer to poke holes in the surface.
to make the the horchata soak and finish the cake:
In a large bowl, combine rice, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, and water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let soak overnight, at least 12 hours.
Drain the water and transfer the rice, cinnamon stick, and vanilla bean to a blender. Add the can of evaporated milk and blend on high speed until completely smooth. Strain to remove any debris or small pieces.
Combine the strained rice milk with the sweetened condensed milk and fresh milk and whisk until smooth.
Pour about 3/4 of the mixture over the cake and let it soak. (It’s easy to over-soak tres leche and end up with soggy cake, so I recommend starting with 3/4 of the liquid and adding more as needed.)
Transfer the cake to the refrigerator and let soak for 2-3 hours.
When you’re ready to serve, place the heavy cream and powdered sugar (adjust to your preferred sweetness level) in the bowl of the mixer and whip to soft peaks. Swoop the whipped cream over the top of the cake and dust with a little bit of ground cinnamon.
