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Tres leches cake

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Tres leches cake

A tres leches cake (lit. 'three-milk cake'; Spanish: pastel de tres leches, torta de tres leches or bizcocho de tres leches), dulce de tres leches,[1][2] also known as pan tres leches (lit. 'three-milk bread') or simply tres leches, is a Nicaraguan and Mexican sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk.

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.

Variety of recipes refer to trileche as trileče. Its Albanian and Turkish varieties are referred to as trileçe.[3][4]

History

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The Austin Chronicle cited possible soaked-cake influences as English rum cake, trifle, fruitcakes, Italian zuppa inglese, bread pudding, and medieval Portuguese sopa dorada.[5]

By 1896, the U.S. Department of Commerce was exporting condensed milk to Nicaragua.[6] Cattle, sugarcane plantations, and milk preservation techniques were introduced to Nicaragua by that time, by way of American military occupation.[7]

In 1936, president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a trade agreement with Nicaragua, which "reduced Nicaraguan duties" in favor of importing dairy products from Wisconsin. These included evaporated, powdered, and condensed milk,[7][8] which Wheelock implies affected Nicaraguan recipes.[7] Additionally, in part due to the food insecurity of the Great Depression, canned milk sales "skyrocketed" in Nicaragua.[7]

In the 20th century in Tabasco, Mexico, a dessert named torta de leche consisted of "sweetened scalded milk, baked, and served floating in its milk sauce."[5]

[9][10]

The dessert has since become a staple in some Latin American countries (Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Panama), and in Albania as well.[7]

Soaked cakes were extant in Medieval Europe.[11] Recipes for soaked-cake desserts were seen in some Latin American countries as early as the 19th century, in countries like El Salvador, likely a result of the large cross-cultural transfer which took place between Europe and the Americas.[12] Nicaragua is one of the countries where tres leches cake has become popular.[13] The cake is popular in Central, North America, and many parts of the Caribbean, Canary Islands, as well as in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia and some other parts of Europe.[14][15]

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 from Los Ranchos restaurant in Miami,[16] which featured it on its menu when it 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 a tres leches recipe in its 1997 edition.[15] Since the pandemic of 2020, the cake has been growing in popularity, potentially due to its use of shelf stable milk and pantry staples.[17]

European variations

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A variety of tres leches known as trileçe (a caramel topped version of tres leches) became popular in the Balkans and Turkey. One theory is that the popularity of Mexican soap operas in Albania led local chefs to reverse-engineer the dessert, which then spread to Turkey.[18][19] The Albanian version is sometimes made literally with three milks: cow, goat and water buffalo, though more commonly a mixture of cow's milk and cream is used. The Albanian variation “trileçe" usually has a caramel topping while the tres leches cake is topped with cream and fruit.[18]

Ingredients

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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. Sometimes, strawberries or cinnamon are also used.

The cake base of a tres leches Cake can be made from scratch or by using a store-bought mix.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Raichlen, Steven (1998). Salud Y Sazon: 200 Recetas De LA Cocina De Mama Todas Bajas En Grasa, Sal Y Colesterol! (in Spanish). Rodale. ISBN 978-0-87596-474-4. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  2. ^ Raichlen, Steven (1998). Salud Y Sazon: 200 Recetas De LA Cocina De Mama Todas Bajas En Grasa, Sal Y Colesterol! (in Spanish). Rodale. ISBN 978-0-87596-474-4. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  3. ^ Hoskinson, Brad. Albanian Cookbook: Traditional Recipes for The Home Cook. Brad Hoskinson. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  4. ^ The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget. Rough Guides UK. 2012-05-17. ISBN 978-1-4093-5877-0. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  5. ^ a b Pack, M. M. (February 13, 2004). "Got Milk?™". www.austinchronicle.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  6. ^ Report Upon the Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries. United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. 1899. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  7. ^ a b c d e "The Long, Winding Origin Story of Tres Leches Cake". 17 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  8. ^ Reciprocal trade. Agreement between the United States of America and Nicaragua. Signed at Managua, March 11, 1936 ... Executive agreement series, no. 95. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1936. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Foster, Lynn V.; Foster, Lawrence (1996). Fielding's Mexico. Fielding Worldwide. ISBN 978-1-56952-118-2. Archived from the original on 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  10. ^ Porteé, Alex. "Why leche condensada (sweetened condensed milk) is such a staple in Latin American cooking". The Today Show. Archived from the original on 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-11. tres leches, an iconic Nicaraguan and Mexican cake.
  11. ^ Rice, Hannah (2023-07-08). "The Fascinating Origin Story Of The Tres Leches Cake - The Daily Meal". Daily Meal. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  12. ^ Pack, MM (13 February 2004). "Got Milk? On the trail of pastel de tres leches". Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  13. ^ Stradley, Linda (2015-05-05). "Tres Leches Cake History and Recipe". What's Cooking America. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  14. ^ Higuera McMahon, Jacqueline (8 August 2007). "Tres Leches cake goes one better". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  15. ^ a b Galaraza, Daniela (2020-10-02). "Creamy and sweet, tres leches cake is on the rise". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  16. ^ Baca, Mandy (2020). The Long, Winding Origin Story of Tres Leches Cake. food52.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08. 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.
  17. ^ Galarza, G. Daniela (2021-10-28). "Creamy and sweet, tres leches cake is on the rise". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  18. ^ a b "Trileçe kazan dünya kepçe". Hürriyet. 1 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  19. ^ Dan Nosowitz (November 12, 2015). "How a South American Soap Opera Created a Turkish Dessert Craze". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  20. ^ Lambert, Leslie (2022-09-05). "Easy Tres Leches Cake With Cake Mix". Lamberts Lately. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
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