Cuatro Leches Cake- Mexico #53

This cake is similar to tres leches cake but is made with 4 milks--evaporated milk, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. It's soaked in the 4 milks, which makes it very moist, but not wet. It also has a whipped heavy cream frosting with fresh coconut on top.

Cake:

1-1/2 cake flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar, divided
4 large eggs, separated
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Leche glaze:

1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

2 c. heavy cream
1/3 powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 fresh coconut, shredded, about 1 cup. ( don't bother, buy packaged unsweetened coconut, toasted would be best)

Preheat oven 350F, Grease and flour a 9" round cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, cream butter and 3/4 c. of the sugar.
Beat in the egg yolks until mixture is uniform in texture and pale yellow.
Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla until well combined.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 c. sugar and beat until glossy and stiff.
Fold in 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in 1/3 of the dry mixture. Alternate in this manner until the ingredients are combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. Bake 35-45mins., until the top is golden brown and the cake springs back when touched lightly across the middle.
Remove from oven and cool 10 mins.on a rack then remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool completely.
Meanwhile, while the cake is baking, prepare the leche glaze. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium until bubbling, stirring constantly. Remove the glaze from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
When the cake is cooled completely, slice it horizontally into 2 even layers. Place each layer on a large plate and spoon the leche glaze evenly over the cake layers, 1/4 c. at a time, waiting about 5 mins. between pours to allow the cake to absorb the glaze. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible.
When layers are chilled prepare the frosting. In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
To assemble the cake, spread a layer of the frosting on the bottom layer. Stack the 2nd layer on top and frost top and sides. Decorate with coconut.

Results: I didn't find this cake to be difficult to make but it did require more time than I anticipated. I made 2-9" round layers instead of 1 layer and cutting it in 1/2. They were a little thin but they were going to be thin anyway. When pouring the glaze on make sure you have them on a plate with a lip otherwise it will run off the plate. I bought a coconut to decorate the top. That was more work than I wanted. Just cracking it takes strength. Then to shave it is a challenge. So, I used what I could from the fresh coconut and added store bought. I think it would have looked better if the coconut had been toasted.

Bottom Line: I had promised someone this cake. However, I think they thought it was going to have a caramel filling, which it didn't. That type of filling is in the tres leches cake. I will be making that but not for awhile. I'll keep this recipe in the back of my mind. It is yummy.

A-Z Cakes with Linda

Search This Blog