Recipe from Sam Yoo
Adapted by Ligaya Mishan
Updated Dec. 6, 2023
- Total Time
- 5¼ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1½ hours plus 3½ hours’ cooling and chilling
- Rating
- 4(100)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The marquee dessert at Golden Diner, in Manhattan’s Chinatown, is a take on tres leches, a Latin American cake soaked in three kinds of milk, as the Spanish name attests: whole milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk, its unsweetened cousin. Sam Yoo, the chef and owner, infuses the milk with Thai tea powder, a blend of black tea and vanilla that yields a signature tiger-orange hue. The longer the cake soaks, the better it is. (Mr. Yoo lets it rest for as long as two nights, with a flip in between so the liquid that’s pooled at the bottom has another chance to run through.) The cake is finished with whipped cream, coconut flakes toasted near gold and lime zest lending a bright sting. Keep the cake in the refrigerator until the last moment, so it’s as cold as possible and melts in the mouth, almost like ice cream. The faint bitterness of the tea checks the sweetness of the cake, so it’s just enough. —Ligaya Mishan
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Ingredients
Yield:12 servings
- Butter, for greasing the pan
- 2¼cups/286 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
- 5large egg whites
- ½teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1½cups plus 2 tablespoons/320 grams granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6large egg yolks
- ½cup/110 milliliters whole milk
- 1½teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3cups/720 milliliters whole milk
- 2cups/480 milliliters evaporated milk
- 1¾cups/420 milliliters sweetened condensed milk
- Heaping ½ cup/42 grams Thai tea powder (see Tip)
- 2cups/480 milliliters heavy cream
- ½cup/117 grams sour cream
- 3tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2cups/100 grams unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted (see Tip)
- 3limes, for zesting
For the Cake
For the Tres Leches
For the Whipped Cream
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
843 calories; 38 grams fat; 24 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 114 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 90 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 303 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan and dust with flour.
Step
2
Prepare the cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium-high until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar, whipping as you go, until fluffy with firm peaks, about 5 minutes.
Step
3
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole milk and vanilla until well combined. With the mixer running on medium speed, gradually add the wet ingredients to the whipped whites until well combined, stopping and scraping the bowl as necessary. Gradually add the dry ingredients until well combined, scraping the bowl as necessary.
Step
4
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, then spread evenly. Bake for 18 minutes, then rotate the pan and continue baking for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the top is golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Step
5
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan until slightly warmer than room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate the cake, still in the pan and uncovered, while you make the tres leches mixture.
Step
6
Make the tres leches: In a small saucepan, warm the whole milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk over medium heat. Stir occasionally until just shy of simmering, steaming but not bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the tea powder. Take the saucepan off the heat and let the tea steep for 10 minutes. (It will turn orange.) Using a fine-mesh sieve or tea strainer, strain into a liquid measuring cup or medium bowl.
Step
7
Take the cake out of the refrigerator. Using a fork, poke holes all across the surface of the cake — the more holes the better — as close together as possible. With the cake still in the pan, cut it into 12 even pieces. (It will be more difficult to cut later, once the tres leches mixture has soaked through.)
Step
8
Carefully pour the warm tres leches mixture slowly and evenly over the cake, pausing as necessary to let the cake absorb the mixture. The cake should be fully soaked through the center; the white of the crumb should not be visible. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 3 hours.
Step
9
Just before serving, make the whipped cream: Combine the heavy cream, sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip on high speed until the cream doubles in volume and forms stiff peaks, about 1 minute.
Step
10
When ready to serve, take the cake out of the refrigerator. Transfer each slice to a separate plate. (Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Using a spatula, spread the whipped cream on top of each slice, or pipe it from a pastry bag. Scatter with the toasted coconut flakes until the whipped cream is covered completely. Finely grate lime zest directly over each slice. Serve cold: The cake should melt in your mouth, with a texture close to ice cream.
Tips
- Thai tea powder can be purchased at Thai markets or online. Look for a brand of Thai tea powder with no added sugar or milk powder, such as Wangderm.
- To toast coconut, spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and crunchy, stirring once, 5 to 10 minutes.
Ratings
4
out of 5
100
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Cooking Notes
Maggie
This is beyond tasty. The only difficulty was having patience to let it soak before devouring
GeoPillow
What a brilliant idea. I've always liked the concept of tres leches cakes, but in practice they're invariably so supersweet that I find them cloying. Cutting all that sweetness with the astringency of tea seems like a tremendous idea.But before investing in the Thai powder, I think I'll experiment by heating the milk and steeping black tea in it. This might result in an unwelcome color, but I'll risk it.
Anita
The Wangderm Thai tea contains artificial color. Is there another similar product without this?
Christine
Sacrilege I know, but can anyone recommend a “supermarket” style cake, or box cake mix that could substitute?
Felicia R.
I made this for my husband’s birthday (he’s a huge fan of all thing tres leches). This cake blew his socks off! I used ChaTraMue brand tea; it has a little sugar, but I cut the added sugar by 1/3 for baked good recipes, so it didn’t much matter. This cake is a fair amount of process, but worth it. Since it was my first go at making it, aside from cutting sugar, I limited deviation. To the dry mix, added a pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, mace, 1/2 tsp vanilla bean, and 1/2tsp salt to punch it up.
Sabrina
I'm extremely caffeine sensitive too, so have started researching. I haven't been able to enjoy a Thai tea in ages, so would love to experience that taste again! Checking labels/recipes - the Thai powder seems to be: Assam tea + spices (star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and/or clove) + sometimes vanilla and/or pandan + sugar. I can tolerate Harney & Sons decaf black teas lightly brewed (great quality + taste for decaf!) and they have a Decaf Assam. I'm going to try it with that and see.
Sarah
I really wanted to like this cake but could not give it more than 3 stars. I wanted the Thai tea taste to come through more strongly - maybe it is quite important to soak for two nights. I did just one night, followed the recipe carefully. Honestly the toasted coconut was the most interesting thing about this cake. Pretty color though!
Marianne W
To DD, the whole point of a Tres Leches cake (or any "poke cake" for that matter) is to change the texture of the cake. Why not make it the way it's designed to be made? It's wonderful.
DD
It is against my religion to soak cakes in anything that changes the texture,😱😁 My daughter wanted me to make this. I love Thai ice tea, one I indulge in very rarely. As a compromise, I made the Thai Tres leches about 2 cups and used a slice or two of regular cake to indulge her . Leftover tea diluted with water and ice made me an indulgent Thai ice tea. If anyone else feels the same way about soaking a big batch of lovely cake, here is another option.
shauna
Made with liquid Thai tea from Whole Foods and reduced the condensed milk to compensate for the extra liquid. Worked like a charm! Soaked for 2 days, came out delicious
Lauren Peterson
10s 10s 10s all across the board.The cake recipe is quite stiff to accommodate all the milk tea and it holds up so well. I added lime zest to the whipped cream for double citrus vibes. Cannot recommend enough!
Drew
Does anyone have issues with the entire cake not turning orange? Any help would be appreciated
Jess
Had this for my birthday and it was magnificent. So most, so delicious, not too sweet. Loved the sour cream whipped cream frosting— but definitely had too much of it!
Alice
Subbed out the Thai tea powder for 1/3 C matcha powder. It turned out beautifully - light yet decadent, with the tea flavor cutting through the sweetness. For the tres leches, I loosely followed the proportions based on the can sizes- then filled out with whole milk. Great holiday dessert for a crowd!
Margo
Maybe you could create a recipe that calls or either a full can of evaportated/condensed milk. I had too much evaporated milk left over.
Sarah M
I halved the recipe (I'm the only sweet tooth here), and baked for a few minutes less in an 8x8. Otherwise kept the ratios the same. Since I had leftover sweetened condensed milk, I added that to the whipped cream and skipped the sugar and vanilla. Added some lime zest and salt to the whipped cream, too. Delish!
mimi
I love Thai tea but dislike tres leches cake. I don’t like the texture, which is pretty much what that cake is all about. For those who dig it, this sounds like such a great riff and it suggests more variation. What about adding ground freeze dried strawberry powder? Or coffee or chocolate?) If I end up making it, I’ll report back.
Linda RS
I don't think you could substitute a cake mix. I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I've made tres leches several times, and it's not a typical cake. It's usually kind of spongy to soak up the milk. A regular butter cake would probably fall apart when soaked.
kiki
I made this last night for a dinner party, following the Momofoku Bo Ssam. It was a hit! The toasted coconut and lime zest are so necessary and added some freshness from the lime and a nice slight crunch from the coconut. I made it 2 days in advance and flipped the slides over on the second day. It was hard not to keep sipping the tea steeped in the tres leches. Highly recommend!
Amanda
To Christine- a sponge cake is used as the base because it holds up to all the soaking. I think most box cakes are a simple "butter" cake and would have an unpleasant texture. If it helps, the cake came together pretty fast.
Linda Levy [EDITED]
Use 12 teabags steeped, any kind I want. Half in milk, half steeped
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