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
Weekly Provisions: How To Eat Seasonally And Love What’s Left Over
Joyful, seasonal recipes designed to help you waste less
Reinvent your weekend feasts and eat well throughout the week
With recipes for everything from brunch dishes to desserts
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.
