Granadilla Tres Leches cake

One of my all-time favourite desserts, so beloved in my circle, is tres leches cake. It has even become the name of our friend circle’s WhatsApp group! The Latin American cake, which translates to “three milks” is a delicious sponge cake soaked in a milk mixture made of evaporated milk, condensed milk and double thick cream. This is one of those blank canvas cakes where you can infuse all sorts of flavours via the milk mixture – here I opted to lift the flavour with a fun and punchy infusion of granadilla.

For the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.

2. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add 1/3 of the sugar and continue beating until firm peaks form.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and smooth.

4. Sift the flour, then fold into the egg yolk mixture. Add the milk, baking powder and vanilla and mix until combined.

5. Fold the egg whites into the batter until just incorporated, taking care not to overmix.

6. Grease a 32 x 23.5 cm ovenproof dish, then pour in the batter and bake for 30–40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

For the milk syrup:

1. Whisk together all the ingredients.

2. Strain through a sieve to remove the granadilla pips and pulp.

To assemble:

1. Once the cake has cooled completely, poke all over with a fork, then gently pour the milk syrup over the cake. If you like, set aside some of the milk syrup for serving.

2. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight to allow the milk to soak into the cake.

3. To decorate, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until soft peaks form, then spoon and smooth over the cake. Spoon over the granadilla pulp.

Find more cake recipes here. 

Videography: Romy Wilson and Jan Ras
Photography: Jan Ras
Food assistant: Emma Nkunzana