Fruity Tres Leches Cake

Written by on in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

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I am not sure which one I like more – making desserts or eating them! No, I am really serious …it gives me such pleasure and joy to make desserts!.  It is like the perfect stress reliever! I watch FOOD Network incessantly and pin down dessert recipes from my blogger friends and from the internet and then dream about making them! My kids absolutely enjoy this inherent trait of mine as you can guess and they are also constantly bringing in requests for different kinds of sweet treats! But as I have been watching my calories now, I try to refrain from making big desserts (like for instance, a big layered cake) unless I have a big crowd to share it with.!  Hubby dear is a fitness freak and will have one small piece saying “it’s very good but I really cannot eat anymore!”.  The kids will gobble it up all the first day but after that initial enthusiasm, they begin to lose interest and begin to demand newer treats while the huge dessert stays in the refrigerator making me feel guilty every time I open the fridge!  So anyways I end up doing my part of course (having a small treat everyday until the whole thing is done!  🙂 ) What can I do? I cannot and absolutely will not waste FOOD!  Especially one that has been made-at-home with so much love 🙂

So anyways, that is the reason now I make big desserts only when I am bringing it somewhere or when I call people over! So this ‘Tres Leches Cake’ was something I had seen  in a Betty Crocker Recipe Book  and have been aching to make it from a  really, really long time. I finally got the opportunity when a dear friend of mine wanted to give a surprise informal birthday party for her mom.  I naturally signed up for bringing the cake.! She said her mom didn’t like chocolate and so ‘Tres Leches’ was the first thing that sprung to mind!  Tres Leches , by the way, means 3 forms of milk and this one uses condensed milk, evaporated milk and whipping cream.  This is what makes this cake incredibly rich and moist! I additionally decided to do layers and do a filling with fruits to make it a little bit healthy to enable a pleasing and guilt-free indulgence (at least somewhat:) ) for all ! The result was one marvelous, and absolutely delicious dessert that everyone enjoyed greatly! And the best part…it all got over like under 30 minutes! Now that’s what I call a good dessert!

So today I thought it would be a good idea to bring this over to Angie’s for Fiesta Friday since I am sure there is enough crowd there to devour this all 🙂

Here's the recipe, adapted from Betty Crocker's
Premium Tres Leches Cake recipe:
This makes 1 large layered cake - about 16-20 servings
Ingredients:
1 box Betty crocker SuperMoist Yellow Cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange zest
For The tres Leches sauce:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the fruit filling:
About 2 cups , mix of fresh and canned,
sliced fruits of your choice
(I used oranges,mangoes,peaches for the filling
and strawberries and kiwis for the top)
For the frosting:
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (icing sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. (325 F if dark pan). Grease and dust with flour the bottom and sides of a 9 inch round pan.

Take a large mixing bowl and add the cake mix,water,oil, vanilla and the orange zest. Add the eggs one at a time and mix using hand mixer for about 2 minutes until well blended.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean).  Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes. Then carefully run a knife around the edges of the pan and then invert a plate over the top to get the cake out of the pan. Let cool for another 5-10 minutes.

Using a large sharp knife, cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers.  (I use toothpicks as markers to form a circle before running the knife).

Place each layer on a separate plate.  Prick each layer with a fork slightly.

Mix the 3 tres leches ingredients in a small mixing bowl.  Drizzle this over each cake layer (about 2 tablespoonful for each layer).

Whip the frosting ingredients in  a mixing bowl until creamy and set aside.

Assembling the cake:

Now to assemble, take your final cake tray and place one cake layer. Place some of the fruit filling and spread it to cover the layer.

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Immediately place the next layer. Add a little dab of the whipped frosting and spread it around and then place another layer of fruits.

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Finally place the last layer and apply the frosting generously to form a thick layer.  Top with fresh fruits.

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Serve immediately or you could refrigerate for up to 3 hours before serving.

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Notes/Tips:

It is best to serve and eat this cake immediately.  Hence assemble the cake close to when you are going to consume it. If you refrigerate for more than 3 hours before serving, the cake can start falling apart because of the liquid from the fruits and the moisture from the tres leches.

For the filling between the layers, I used frosting to layer the middle and top layers only but you could add frosting to all 3 layers too.

Drizzle the tres leches sauce over the cake layers shortly before assembling. Do not wait for too long to assemble after pouring tres leches over the layers since the layers will start falling apart otherwise and you will not be able to assemble the layers.

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Leave a comment

  1. Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to generate a good article… but what can I
    say… I procrastinate a lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.

    Reply

  4. Thanks so much Indu for making it on my Mom’s birthday. My mom and all guests loved it. This cake looks sumptuous and tastes even better. Really great creativity and combination of fruits!!

    Reply

  6. Tre leches cake has been on my to do list forever, and yours looks so beautiful that I know I will have to make it soon. A light moist cake with lovely fruit sounds like the perfect dessert in our house!

    Reply

  11. Yum! I love a good tres leches cake, and this looks fabulous with all that fruit! Lovely presentation with the kiwi and strawberries on top. Oh, and Indu, I would eat it until it was gone too, because I hate to waste food! 🙂

    Reply

  12. This reminds me of a strawberry cake my aunt makes. It was the moistest cake I have ever eaten, and she would never give me the recipe! I think yours will be an excellent substitute. 🙂

    Reply

  13. Indu, this dessert looks fabulous – your pictures make it really stand out! I love all of the fresh and colorful fruit, let alone the cake and the filling. Yes, I would have a hard time eating only one piece 🙂

    Reply

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