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 A slice of tres leches cake | |
| Alternative names | Torta de tres, Trileçe or trileqe (Albanian), трилече or Trileche (Bulgarian and Macedonian), trileçe (Turkish), trileće (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia), pan tres leches, bizcocho de tres leches, pastel de tres leches |
|---|---|
| Type | Sponge cake |
| Place of origin | Latin America |
| Region or state | Latin America |
| Main ingredients | Cake base;evaporated milk,condensed milk,heavy cream |
Atres leches cake (lit. 'three-milk cake';Spanish:pastel de tres leches,torta de tres leches orbizcocho de tres leches),dulce de tres leches,[1] also known aspan tres leches (lit. 'three-milk bread') or simplytres leches, is asponge cake originating inLatin America soaked in three kinds ofmilk:evaporated milk,condensed milk, andwhole milk. It is often topped withwhipped cream, fruit andcinnamon.
Tres leches is a very light cake with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk. A variation of the cake has since spread toSoutheastern Europe, especiallyAlbania andTurkey, where it is known astrileçe ortrileće.
The history of thetres leches cake is debated. European countries have long held the tradition of "soaked" cakes.[2] England, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain have soaked cakes dating back to the Middle Ages.[3] This tradition is thought to have influenced the creation of thetres leches cake in Latin America.[4]
By 1896, theU.S. Department of Commerce was exportingcondensed milk toNicaragua.[5] Cattle, sugarcane plantations, and milk preservation techniques were introduced to Nicaragua by that time, by way of American military occupation.[6]
In 1936, presidentFranklin D. Roosevelt signed a trade agreement with Nicaragua which "reduced Nicaraguan duties" in favor of importingdairy products from Wisconsin, includingevaporated,powdered, andcondensed milk.[6][7] Several companies includingNestle started posting recipes fortres leches on their evaporated and condensed milk containers.[8] Additionally, in part due to the food insecurity of theGreat Depression, canned milk sales "skyrocketed" in Nicaragua.[6]
In the 20th century inTabasco, Mexico, a dessert namedtorta de leche consisted of "sweetened scalded milk, baked, and served floating in its milk sauce."[4][9][10]
Recipes for soaked-cake desserts were seen in someLatin American countries as early as the 19th century, in countries likeEl Salvador, likely a result of the large cross-cultural transfer which took place between Europe and the Americas.[4] Soaked cakes were extant in medieval Europe.[11]The Austin Chronicle cited Englishrum cake,trifle,fruitcake, andbread pudding, Italianzuppa inglese, and medieval Portuguesesopa dorada as possible soaked-cake influences.[4] The cake is popular inCentral America,North America, and many parts of theCaribbean,Canary Islands, as well as inAlbania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,North Macedonia,Serbia and some other parts ofEurope.[6][12][13]
In the US, the cake first became popular in the 1980s beginning in Miami due to Nicaraguan immigration. Its popularity then spread across the US, possibly fromLos Ranchos restaurant in Miami,[14] which featured it on its menu when the restaurant opened in 1981. The cake was so popular at Los Ranchos that its recipe was featured on its fliers, which were pervasively distributed.The Joy of Cooking included atres leches recipe in its 1997 edition.[13] Since the pandemic of 2020, the cake has been growing in popularity, potentially due to its use of shelf stable milk and pantry staples.[15]
A variety oftres leches known astrileche,trileče ortrileçe has become popular inSoutheastern Europe, especiallyAlbania and westernTurkey. Its Albanian and Turkish varieties are referred to astrileçe.[16][17] It is a caramel topped version of tres leches and it became popular in theBalkans and Turkey. One theory is that the popularity of Mexican soap operas inAlbania led local chefs to reverse-engineer the dessert, which then spread to Turkey. Another theory is that that Renata Casadei, an Italian chef at Piazza inTirana, introduced it to Albania after visiting a friend in theDominican Republic.[18][19][20] The Albanian version is sometimes made literally with three milks: cow, goat andwater buffalo, though more commonly a mixture of cow's milk and cream is used. The Albanian variationtrileçe usually has a caramel topping while thetres leches cake is topped withwhipped cream and fruit.[19]
Tres leches cake consists of a standard cake base that is soaked in three kinds of milk ("tres leches" in Spanish). The milks used are evaporated, condensed, and whole milks. This mixture is poured over the baked sponge, allowing the milks to be absorbed to make a dessert with an almost pudding-like consistency. The cake is then topped with whipped cream. It can also be adorned with strawberries, blueberries, fruit drizzle and cinnamon.
The cake base of atres leches cake can be made from scratch or by using a store-bought mix.[21]
Traditionally inTurkish cuisine, on top of the moist milk cake base,trileçe is topped off with a light, airy whipped cream with another layer of butterycaramel sauce and decorated with some fine lines of the whipped cream mixture. A toothpick or other pointed utensil is used to make the iconic design on the top.
tres leches, an iconic Nicaraguan and Mexican cake.
In Miami, where Latin American communities abound, tres leches can be found in both Nicaraguan and non-Nicaraguan establishments alike, from bakeries to food stores and restaurants.
