Pastel de tres leches, also known as tres leches cake, three-milk cake, or simply tres leches, is an increasingly popular Latin American dessert dish. To make tres leches, a vanilla flavored sponge cake is soaked in a sweet three-milk mixture containing condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream and then is topped with a meringue or whipped cream frosting. Pastel de tres leches is sweet and light and surprisingly easy to make. It is traditionally served as a special occasion cake for weddings, holidays, birthdays, and quinceneras throughout Central and South America and now the throughout the United States as well (Terrero). Because of its popularity, the origins of tres leches cake are extremely disputed, and several Latin American countries including Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua all claim tres leches as their own.
It is extremely difficult to pinpoint when and where tres leches cake originated. The three most popular theories that exist come from European, Cuban and Mexican Indian cultures. In Europe, many countries have their own variation of a soaked cake such as Tiramisu in Italy or rum cake in England. One theory explains that Europeans brought these dessert dishes with them during colonization, as alternatives to traditional European soaked cakes (Terrero). Another theory explains that tres leches is derived from Mexican Indian tribes who soaked their cakes with cajetas, a thick caramelized syrup created by simmering goat’s milk (Murrieta). Others believe that it began in Miami, Florida, by Cuban immigrant homemakers looking for a cheap and easy dessert (Murrieta).
Tres leches cakes are prepared by splitting an egg and butter pound cake into several layers and poking many small holes into the top of each layer. The milk mixture is then poured into the holes where it is soaked up almost like a sponge. The cake has many air bubbles, which soak up the milk mixture without making the cake too soggy. The layers become firm in the refrigerator and are stacked with fruit purees or jams in the center.
It is generally served cold with cold milk, making it a
perfect dessert for warm weather (Murietta).
It is typically topped with a whipped cream or meringue frosting, but
can come in many varieties. In other
variations, it can also be topped with cajetas or coconut milk, as in the
Caribbean version, which would make it cuatro or cinco leches (Eat this Word:
Tres Leches). Other toppings include various tropical fruits such as mangos or papayas,
cinnamon, or fresh berries (Pack).
Today, pastel de tres leches has become an iconic dessert of Latin
America.
Lexicographer: Ellye Birnbrey, Tulane University
Works Cited
"Eat this Word: Tres Leches." Delights and Prejudices. James Beard Foundation, 26 Sep 2011. Web. 4 Nov 2013. <http://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/eat-word-tres-leches>.
Murietta, Ed. "Traditional Tres Leches
Bucks All the Trends." Contra
Costa Times. 05 May 2004: n. page. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~joanne/recipes/tresleches.html>.
Pack, MM. "Got Milk: On the Trail of Pastel de Tres Leches." Austin Chronicle. (2004): n. page. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2004-02-13/196888/>.
Sioble, Dorothy. "Tres Leches Cake:
Mystery Solved ." Texas
Cooking. n.d. n. page. Print.
<http://www.texascooking.com/features/sept2002treslechescakerecipe.htm>.
