Pecan pie tres leches

A Thanksgiving twist to a milky cake found as a staple throughout Latin America as an option for anyone looking to bring something other than pie to Thanksgiving.

It’s soaked in three milks, tres leches translates to three milks, one of which is a brown sugar cinnamon milk. The result is a moistened vanilla sponge with a brown sugar cinnamon milk, topped with a pie crust whipped cream and candied pecans. It’s festive and tastes like a pecan pie mixed with a vanilla cake. Perfection!

Just keep in mind you’ll need to let this cake soak overnight in the fridge.

You can use an 8x8, 9x9 or 9x13 baking dish for this cake. Just adjust the baking time and keep an eye on it towards the end. An 8x8 dish will require the higher suggested time, while a 9x13 dish will require the lower suggested time.

I suggest using a stand mixer or electric beaters for this recipe. If you have a whisk, that can work but there’s a lot of mixing in this recipe so I suggest the help of some kitchen appliances!

Ingredients:

Vanilla sponge cake:

125g flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 eggs, large

200g sugar, divided

81g, or 1/3 cup, milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Tres Leches:

376g, or 12 oz, evaporated milk

396g, or 14 oz, condensed milk

61g milk

1/2 tsp almond extract, optional

2 tbsp brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground

1/4 tsp ginger, ground

Candied pecans:

150g pecans

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp butter, salted, cubed

Pie crust crumble:

100g brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

94g all purpose flour

71g salted butter, melted

Whipped cream:

600ml heavy cream

2 tbsp granulated sugar

Method:

Start this recipe the day before serving, so you can leave the cake in the fridge overnight to absorb all the delicious milk mixture!

Make the vanilla sponge cake:

Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Grease a baking pan (8x8 or 9x9 or 9x13) with cooking spray or butter all over the base and up the sides.

Combine dry ingredients: add flour, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to break up any clumps.

Separate 5 eggs into two bowls with yolks in one bowl and egg whites in the other. Careful not to break the yolks into the whites!

Whip egg yolks: Add 3/4 cup sugar to the bowl with the yolks and mix on high speed (using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer) until very pale yellow. Add milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and stir gently until no clumps remain.

Whip egg whites: Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, (make sure to clean and dry completely in order to whip egg whites), beat egg whites on high speed and slowly add 1/4 cup sugar, whipping whilst adding it in, until stiff peaks form. Add 1/2 of the whipped egg whites into the cake batter at a time, gently folding it in order to keep it fluffy and aerated. Once it’s all been folded in, it’s ready to bake.

Bake: Pour into a greased pan and bake for 30-35 mins. Remove from the oven once a toothpick from the center comes out clean then let cool at room temperature for 15 mins. You’ll notice the sides pulling away from the pan, which is totally normal. Turn off the oven.

Heat milk with spices: add evaporated milk and whole milk to a pot or pan and add almond extract (if using), brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Gently heat on medium-low heat, just to completely dissolve the brown sugar. The spices will be in clumps but that’s okay. Once the brown sugar is completely dissolved with no sugar crystals remaining, remove from heat. Let cool just until it’s warm, not hot.

Whisk the milks: Combine condensed milk and the warm spiced milk in a bowl. Whisk the milks together until the clumps disappear and the mixture is evenly combined.

Soak the cake: Poke holes all over the cake using a toothpick or fork and pour the milk mixture over. I suggest placing a tray underneath the cake while you pour in case any liquid spills over. Refridgerate overnight (important).

The next day:

Preheat oven to 190C/375F.

Make pie crust crumble topping: add all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, pouring the melted butter in last. Mix together until the butter is mixed evenly through the dry ingredients and clump together using your hands. It should be like a clumpy coarse sand texture. Pour onto a baking sheet and spread evenly.

Toast the pecans: add pecans, brown sugar and butter onto a lined baking sheet. Mix gently to evenly combine the brown sugar over the pecans.

Bake: Place both the sheet with the pecans and the sheet with the crumble into the oven and bake for about 25-30 mins on the middle rack, stirring the pecans halfway through. Remove from the oven once both are golden and crunchy. Let both cool completely.

Make the pie crust whipped cream: to a stand mixer, add cooled and crunchy pie crust crumble. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed, gradually increasing the speed as the pieces begin to break down into crumbs. You can also do this in a large ziplock bag, using a rolling pin to break it apart into crumbs. Once the pie crust crumble is broken down into crumbs, pour into a separate bowl and wipe down the stand mixer bowl until it is completely clean and dry. Pour in the heavy cream and using the whisk attachment, whip on high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Careful not to overmix past the point of stiff peaks. Pour in crumbs and whisk on low speed, just 1-2 mins until it is evenly mixed in. Now you have a pie crust whipped cream!

Assemble: serve directly in the baking dish. Dollop pie crust whipped cream over the cake and spread to the sides. Garnish with pecans!