Pastel de Tres Leches

Mr. Underfoot loves Tres Leches Cake, but lately I've been bothered by the taste of canned sweetened condensed milk or canned evaporated milk. After scouring the web for a recipe that omitted them, I learned that they simply are 2 of the 3 leches. Finally it dawned on me that like most ingredients, they can be made from scratch. The nice thing about making your own sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk is that you get to use whatever milk and sweetener you like (anyone want some maple syrup sweetened condensed organic goat milk? No? Well maybe next time). Don't Waste The Crumbs has a great post in which she made sweetened condensed milk with a variety of sweeteners.

Here's how I made mine: I needed 14oz each of the finished milks so I started with 28oz (3 & 1/2 cups) each in two sauce pans with 1/2 cup granulated sugar in one. I took 2 straws and marked the height of the milk in each pan, then I marked a half way line between  the first mark and the bottom of the straw. All that was left was to boil each pan (careful not to let it boil over, which as it turns out is quite a mess if not caught quickly) until the half way line on each straw was reached. If I ever do this again, I will put all 7 cups of milk and the 1/2 cup of sugar in one pot instead of two since the recipe just calls for them to be mixed together anyway. When the milks had evaporated by half, I strained and refrigerated them and set about cleaning up the mess.

Personally I think it tastes like cold soggy cake, but the family likes it, so I i gave it a go. Of course we didn't let sit refrigerated overnight, we might have made it an hour. The verdict...the family loved it and I still think it tastes like cold soggy cake.

Homemade Evaporated Milk-14oz
3&1/2 cups Milk

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk-14oz
3&1/2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
  
Tres Leches Cake

6 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk

Tres Leches Mixture
1&1/2 cups evaporated milk
1&1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Creme Fraiche
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Buttermilk
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tbs Vanilla Bean Paste


Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tbs Light Corn Syrup
3 Tbs Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Pinch Salt

Directions
For the Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat sugar and yolks until smooth. Mix in milk and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder and mix until smooth. With the kitchen aid, with the wish attachment, whip the egg whites on medium with salt until they form peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into first mixture. Do not overmix. Pour into prepared 9x13 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Poke holes all over the cake with a chopstick or something similar and pour the tres leches mixture over the cake. Cover  and refrigerate overnight.

For the Creme Fraiche
Whisk ingredients until all the sugar is dissolved. About 1 minute.

For the Caramel Sauce
Put the salt, water, and sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium-high heat. When it starts to simmer, put a lid on it and let it simmer for a couple minutes until every last sugar crystal is dissolved. When the mixture reaches an amber color, remove it from the heat and mix in the butter and cream. Return to the heat if needed to fully mix. Mix in the vanilla and cool.