- 1 1/4 cups Cake Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/3 cup Canola Oil
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 5 large Eggs
- 1 1/4 cups Whole Milk, divided
- 1 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Rum (optional)
- For meringue topping (see step 6 below): 4 Egg Whites , 1 cup Sugar, Powdered Sugar
- For traditional whipped topping (see step 6 below): 3/4 cup Heavy Cream, 1 tsp Vanilla, 1 tbsp Sugar
Cast of characters |
Baking with your kids = fun summer activity! |
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease 13 x 9 x 2 inch cake pan.
Letting the cake cool |
4. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 30 minutes or until it feels firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool to room temperature.
Pouring on the tres leches |
5. Pierce cake with a fork 30-40 times. Whisk together remaining 3/4 cup of milk, sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup heavy cream, and rum (optional). Slowly pour over cooked cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Meringue topping: In a medium glass or stainless steel bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add 1 cup remaining sugar in a steady stream, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread over top of bake. Broil 1 to 2 minutes until meringue is golden brown. (A scant dusting of powdered sugar will help meringue nicely brown and add crunch.)
- Traditional Whipped topping: *Cooks’ note: Rancho del Zocalo at Disneyland Park serves a traditional Mexican version of Tres Leches with a whipped cream topping. To make, combine 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat mixture until peaks form. Spread over top of cake.
Stiff(ish) peaks |
Now to eat! |
Baking Notes
– DO poke a lot of holes in it before pouring the 3 milk-mixture (thus “tres leches”) on top – more like 60-70, than the suggested 30-40. I made extra holes, and let the cake soak for 24 hours, and all the milk still didn’t soak in.
– I drained the extra milk into a container to save for serving, and actually really liked the effect of the cake sitting in a little pool of that delicious tres leches!
Licking his lips! |
– As for the topping, I went the traditional whipped version, since that what Disneyland does! Here is where I veered from the recipe only once – I added a few shakes of cinnamon to give it that Latin American kick I knew I’d be looking for, and I’m so glad I did!
– Although the topping tasted amazing, I think I needed to whip it a bit more, the peaks were pretty stiff, but when I tried to put ridges in the frosting like Disneyland does, it didn’t really work.
– Oh, and I also did not add the optional rum, if you were wondering.
Outcome & Opinion
Makes you hungry, doesn’t it? |
It probably goes without saying, but this cake is very very moist (without being soggy) and somehow dense yet lighter than you’d expect. I am typically not a fan of custards or bread puddings, which this sort of reminds me of, but the sweet flavors in this cake plus the very creamy, smooth texture (and that bit of cinnamon) really just all come together in a lovely and decadent dessert. Also needless to say, my husband and my kids were pretty pleased with me. I 100% recommend this Disneyland recipe – it’s one of the easiest, and most impressive, made-from-scratch cakes I’ve ever made – I’ll be tucking this little baby away for my next Mexican themed potluck for sure!
If you are interested in checking out the other Disneyland recipes we’ve tried, or “Disney at Home” ideas – click here!
Ok, now it’s your turn to share – do you have any Disneyland recipes that you just love? Let us know so we can try them too and enjoy another taste of Disneyland at home!