Gingerbread tres leches cake
Give this Mexican-inspired cake a festive twist using ginger and cinnamon. The cake is soaked in a trio of sweetened milks, then topped with whipped cream
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Prep:30 mins
Cook:40 mins
plus cooling and at least 2 hrs chilling - Serves 12
- Easy
Nutrition per serving
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kcal 376
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fat 19g
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saturates 11g
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carbs 43g
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sugars 0g
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fibre 1g
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protein 7g
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salt 0.3g
Ingredients
- flavourless oil , for the tin
- 4 eggs , separated
- 200g muscovado sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon , plus a pinch
- 100ml milk
- 410g can evaporated milk
- 200ml sweetened condensed milk , plus 2 tbsp
- 300ml double cream
Method
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil a 23cm springform cake tin that’s at least 6cm deep and line the base with baking parchment. Put the egg whites in a large bowl with a pinch of salt, and beat using an electric whisk until foamy, about 3 mins. Slowly add 150g of the sugar, a spoonful at a time, whisking continuously until thick and glossy.
Mix the egg yolks, remaining sugar and vanilla together in a second bowl for 2 mins, or until pale and foamy. Add the flour, baking powder, spices and milk, then fold together using a spatula.
Add a large spoonful of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter, beat to loosen, then fold through the remaining egg whites using a large metal spoon (don’t over-mix, or you’ll knock out the air) until smooth. Pour this into the tin, smooth the surface and bake for 40-45 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Combine the evaporated and condensed milks with 50ml of the double cream.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 mins, then carefully invert onto a serving plate or cake stand and remove the parchment. (Be sure to use a plate or stand with a slight lip to catch the excess milk.) Leave to cool for another 10 mins.
Poke holes over the cake with a skewer and, while it’s still warm, slowly pour roughly a quarter of the milk mixture over the top. Leave the cake to absorb this before adding more, then repeat until all of the milk mixture is used up – if the cake becomes saturated before you’ve used all the milk, pour what’s left into a jug and serve alongside the cake later for pouring over. This process could take a couple of hours, but as soon as the cake is cool, you should transfer it to the fridge. Once all of the milk has been absorbed, chill for another 2 hrs, or overnight, to chill and improve the texture.
Whip the remaining cream and the 2 tbsp condensed milk to soft peaks. Spoon over the chilled cake, then dust with a pinch of cinnamon. Will keep chilled for two days.