Lime and White Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Tres leches cake is perfect for Cinco de Mayo and ALL your summer celebrations! Dense, tangy lime cake is soaked overnight in a white chocolate & milk mixture. The next day it's topped with rum & white chocolate flavored whipped cream.
Servings 16
Calories 389kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1-¾ Cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ Cup butter
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- ½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup key lime juice
- Zest from one lime
Tres Leches
- 12 oz. evaporated milk
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk , I use Eagle Brand and recommend it
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup white chocolate
- 1 tablespoon rum optional
- Lime juice for sprinkling cake
Topping
- 2 cups heavy cream very cold
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon rum optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ teaspoon powdered instant pudding mix white chocolate
Instructions
Step one: cake
- Blend the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together with the whisk attachment on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
- Add the vanilla and the zest.
- Switch to medium speed. Add the flour mixture, quickly mixing in.
- Now add the lime juice.
- Mix carefully.
- Pour batter into a 9×9 inch, a 7x11, or a 9-inch round cake pan and bake in a 350° oven until done, about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven.
Step two: Tres Leches milk sauce
- Heat the heavy cream to a simmer.
- Add the white chocolate to the heavy whipping cream and stir until smooth.
- Mix the cream mixture, Eagle Brand condensed milk, rum, and evaporated milk.
- Poke holes in the the cake with a fork in several places.
- Pour the cream mixture slowly over the warm cake, stopping now and then to let the cream be absorbed, and gently pulling the cake away from the sides of the cake pan to let the liquid flow down the sides.
- Repeat until all of the cream mixture is gone. The cake will be covered in liquid.
Step three: chill
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Next day turn out onto a cake plate if you wish. (I leave mine right in the pan)
Step three: topping
- Whip the cream with the vanilla and rum until it just begins to thicken.
- Add in the ⅓ teaspoon of instant pudding powder and begin slowly adding the sugar while whipping.
- Whip the topping until it holds soft peaks - don't overwhip or you'll have butter.
Step four: Just before serving
- Sprinkle the cake with about ¼ cup more lime juice.
- Top the cake with the whipped cream and serve.
Notes
- I added shards of white chocolate to the top of my cake for a garnish. The nutrition info is not included in this recipe.
- It needs to be refrigerated overnight to let the cream mixture soak into it - and any leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator as well.
- It's fine to eat for up to 4 days but the quality starts to deteriorate after 2.
- You can freeze the cake itself before adding the cream mixture - then remove from the freezer, thaw, and finish the recipe. You can't freeze the cake once the cream mixture is on it.
- Some people make a lighter, fluffy cake for Tres Leches but I think that it needs to be dense - with almost a pound cake texture. If it's too fluffy it just turns into a wet, soggy mess.
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
- I like homemade whipped cream but you can use Cool Whip if you prefer.
- You can make this up to two days ahead of time but no more than that.
- I love fresh strawberries with the lime and white chocolate flavors. They make a great garnish!
- Maraschino cherries are a more traditional garnish.
- Since you bake and serve this easy dessert right in the same cake pan it's perfect for potlucks.
- Serve it cold!
Nutrition
Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 272mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 846IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 1mg
