Skip to content
Open menu Close menu

Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors

penguin logo

Tonka Bean Tres Leches Cake with Roasted Strawberries

Inspired by a Mexican tres leches cake, this super-light and creamy bake is served with roasted strawberries. It's the bake of the summer.

From the book

Ingredients

200g (7oz) salted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
3 eggs, separated
200g (7oz/scant 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar, divided equally into two 100g (3½oz/scant ½ cup) portions
1 tonka bean, grated, or 1 tbsp vanilla paste
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
200g (7oz/11∕3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
200ml (7fl oz) whole milk
1 x 397g can of condensed milk
1 x 410g can of evaporated milk
For the roasted strawberries
200g (7oz) strawberries, hulled
100g (3½oz/scant ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

Essential kit

You will need: a 20cm (8in) cake tin and an electric hand whisk.

Method

Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus chilling

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6).

Grease a 20cm (8in) cake tin with butter and line it (bottom and sides) with greaseproof paper.

Place the egg whites in a large, clean bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk to form soft peaks. One third at a time, add one portion of the sugar, whisking well between each addition until you have a stiff meringue.

Tip the remaining portion of sugar into a separate large bowl. Add the butter, the egg yolks, the grated tonka bean or the vanilla paste, the almond extract, and the cinnamon. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture together until it is creamy and light.

Mix the baking powder into the flour, then add half the flour mixture and 50ml (1¾fl oz) of the milk to the bowl with the egg-yolk mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Add the remainder of the flour mixture and another 50ml (1¾fl oz) of the milk and beat again until everything is mixed together to form a batter.

One third at a time, fold the meringue into the batter until it is fully incorporated with no flecks of white.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and place it in the centre of the oven to bake for 35–40 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (If it’s not quite ready, pop it back in the oven for 5 minutes, then test again.) Remove the cake from the oven (but leave the oven on) and leave to cool in the tin while you make the roasted strawberries.

Place the hulled strawberries into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and sprinkle with the sugar. Roast for 15–20 minutes, until the strawberries are softened and the sugar has melted. Transfer the strawberries, and any cooking juices in the tray, to a heatproof bowl ready for later.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk. Once the cake has slightly cooled, pour the mixture over the cake and refrigerate for 2 hours. Spoon some of the strawberries and their cooking juices over each slice of cake, to serve.

Reviews

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Thank you for your rating. Our team will get back to any queries as soon as possible.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.

There are no comments yet

Be the first to leave a review

newsletter

Subscribe to The Happy Foodie email newsletter

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week

From the book: Weekly Provisions: How To Eat Seasonally And Love What’s Left Over

Close menu