Tres Leches Cake

Not clear to me why you haven't updated the flour amount in this recipe when so many people have said that it's incorrect.

Delicious! For a coconut version, add a drop of coconut extract, substitute 1 c of whole milk with coconut milk. Sprinkle toasted coconut overtop when serving...use frozen fresh coconut.

To all of the people past, present or future who make this cake. Follow the directions. This is a very dense and dry cake that soaks up about 3 cups of liquid. It is not supposed to light and fluffy. Do not change the flour amount. I made this 4/4/2021. It is perfect and delicious as directed. The people who say other wise, do not know what Tres Leches Cake is.

Having grown up on the border, I found this to be one of the best renditions of tres leches I've ever had. The cake soaked up the liquids without becoming a gummy mess. It raised beautifully, thanks for the tip about not buttering the cake all the way to the edges! I liked that this recipe isn't cloyingly sweet and holds up beautifully. I've been searching for the right Tres Leches cake for ten years now and this is it! Some diced mango and a sprig of mint on the top and it was divine.

Just to clarify, 1 cup of flour is approximately 120 grams. The 101g/half cup quoted earlier is for granulated sugar. Therefore, the grams and cups are equivalent in the recipe. Also, while the batter is thick before adding the egg whites, it becomes easier to work with once you have incorporated the "big scoop" of egg whites that the recipe recommend. This recipe worked well for me. I used coconut evaporated milk and coconut sweetened condensed milk for flavor.

I used the exact weighted measurements in grams using a small kitchen scale for the flour and sugar and my batter turned out great! It is VERY IMPORTANT when beating your egg yolks and sugar that you take it to “ribbon stage” before adding in the milk and flour, this will prevent the thick batter from being too paste-like and make it much easier to incorporate your egg whites! My cake is soaking right now but visually and texturally has turned out exactly as expected!

True Latin American Tres Leches has an untoasted Swiss Meringue topping, not whipped cream. The original is very, very sweet of course so a very few people in Miami have begun to use whipped cream, even Cool Whip(!), as it is easier to do. But it is not authentic. Cool Whip is actually closer to the original taste and texture than whipped cream.

I always use coconut milk instead of the evaporated milk, and top with fresh pineapple slices and some berries for a pina colada version.

Made this exactly as the recipe stated (didn't read about flourgate in the comment section till after, oops) and it came out great!!! It rose dramatically in the oven even though the batter seemed short, the milks seeped through the entire cake, and it tastes DELICIOUS. I added a shot of bourbon to the milk mix plus cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean paste, and almond extract and holy sheet pan, it is a masterpiece.

Is it just me or is 2 1/4 cup of flour is way too much? When I added the flour after the egg yolk and milk part is became a dough. I had to toss it out and start again. What a waste of ingredients. First time I am disappointed in a NYT recipe. I found another tres leches recipe which only called for 1 cup of flour. What gives?

How much flour is always the question. With any recipe that gives volume, you need to know how it was measured. Scoop and strike? Spoon and strike? You will get two vastly different weights. Look at the nutritional info on your bag of flour. It will give you a weight for the serving size, usually a quarter cup. Do the math: 4 quarters = 1 cup, so multiply the serving's weight by 4. King Arthur quotes 30 g per serving, or 120 g/cup. 2 1/4 c = 270 g. Bakeries work by weight for a reason.

I've made this countles times following the weights- ie 285 g flour, and it has turned out perfectly for me. I wonder if some people are forgetting the 1/2 cup milk that goes in the batter in the egg yolk-sugar mix? The only procedural change I've made is that I don't add the flour to the yolk mix until my egg whites are whipped. The batter is a lot for a 9x13 pan. Recently I tried scaling it down (5 eggs, 240 g flour, 190g sugar, 1.8 tsp baking powder, 100 ml milk,) and it was great.

Total disaster. The egg/sugar/flour mixture turned into a solid paste, almost resembling scrambled eggs, and could not be penetrated by the egg white mixture. I ended up having to use the mixer just to combine the two, resulting in a sponge cake so dense and heavy, the milks didn’t even penetrate it after sitting overnight. Literally the worst tres leches I’ve ever made. I’m so disappointed!!

Followed the recipe to the letter. Weighed the flour and the sugar. That’s a must for this recipe!!! So delicious. Even my 12 yr old son loved it and he’s a chocolate fan. The low sweetness in the whipped cream is key as it balances the overly sweetness of the cake. So worth the effort! Loved it.

Made the recipe as directed with the 2 and 1/4 cup of flour. Absolutely no issues, the cake turned out great.