Tres Leches Cake with Popcorn Ice Cream

This dish is a slap in the face to dietary requirements. It is full of all the good things in life, dairy, sugar and gluten. It’s my attempt at making a fantastic dessert that I had at a restaurant in Sydney called Estaban. If you are in Sydney and you like Mexican food, I would highly recommend.

Tres leches cake is like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. If you haven’t tried it before, It’s like a moist madeira cake or more dense sponge. Its origin is Latin America, and it gets its moistness from the three milks (tres leches) used to soak the cake in once baked. I got the basic cake recipe from Preppy Kitchen. Their recipes always turn out well for me (a non-baker).

The dessert I had at Esteban had ice cream with popcorn on it which was fun so I thought I’d go all in and make a popcorn flavoured ice cream.

The recipe is simple but there are a fair few elements in it and it’s best to make the cake and ice cream the day ahead and assemble on the day you plan to serve.

Serves 8-9

Ingredients

Cake ingredients

240g of all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

5 large eggs

250g granulated sugar

120ml of milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Syrup ingredients

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 can of evaporated milk

160ml of milk (I ran out of normal milk, so used a bit of oat milk and it was fine)

Ice cream ingredients

1 pack of microwave butter popcorn

1 tbsp. of butter

100 ml of the syrup (above, I’ll put the details in the method)

500ml of cream (100ml for the popcorn infusion and the remainder for the ice cream)

20ml of salted caramel syrup (you could leave it out or add maple syrup instead)

1 can of condensed milk

Dulce de leche sauce

1 can of condensed milk

50ml of milk or cream

Bag of salted caramel popcorn for decorating

Method

Cake method

1.       Start by heating the oven to 170 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.       Grease a cake tin (24cm x 24cm/9.5 inches by 9.5 inches) and line with baking paper.

3.       You will need three mixing bowls, 2 large and 1 medium.

4.       In the first large bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk. Set aside.

5.       Separate the egg yolks and egg whites, add the egg yolks into the medium bowl and the egg whites into the large bowl.

6.       Beat the egg whites for about a minute until they are foamy and doubled in size. While beating, add in a 3^rd of the sugar. Continue to beat until you can form stiff peaks with the mixture. Set aside for now.

7.       In the medium bowl with your egg yolks add the remaining sugar and beat on medium speed until the mixture is a pale yellow. Approx. 1 minute. Beat in the milk and vanilla extract. Pour into the flour and beat until combined.

8.       Add in half the egg white mixture and fold in gently with a spatula. There should be no white streaks but try not to knock the air out. This keeps it nice and light. Add in the remaining egg whites and fold in.

9.       Pour into your cake tin. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. I checked it out at the 20-minute mark. To test whether it’s cooked, use a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, it’s good to go.

10.  Pop the cake tin on a wire tray and allow to cool just until warm.

Syrup Method

1.       Mix the condensed milk, evaporated milk and milk in a medium bowl. Pour liquid into a jug but save 100ml over for the popcorn ice cream.

2.       Poke some holes in the cake mixture with a skewer.

3.       Pour liquid milk mixture over the cake, cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Ice Cream Method

1.       Make the butter popcorn in the microwave according to packet instructions.

2.       In a large saucepan add the 100ml syrup liquid, butter and 100ml of cream.

3.       Add the caramel or maple syrup if using.

4.       Add the cooked popcorn and simmer for 10 minutes until the popcorn has infused into the milk.

5.       Grab a medium bowl and sieve. Pass the popcorn liquid through the sieve. Using the back of a spoon, press the popcorn mixture through the sieve. You will get a little bit of popcorn goodness pass into the milk. Chuck the popcorn out.

6.       In a large bowl add the remainder of the cream and beat until you get soft peak. Add in the popcorn milk mixture and the can of condensed milk and beat until mixed through.

7.       Add the ice cream mixture to a dish that is suitable for freezing and freeze overnight.

Dulce de Leche Sauce Method

I didn’t realise that dulce de leche is just condensed milk. Every day is a school day. There are a number of different ways to make this but I’m all about ease and this is the simplest method.

1.       Grab your tin of condensed milk and remove the labels.

2.       Fill a tall saucepan (tall enough to submerge your tin in) with water and bring to a simmer.

3.       Drop in your tin using a tongs.

4.       Simmer for 2-3 hours. Make sure to top up with water frequently to avoid it exploding.

5.       Remove the tin from the pot and cool for 40 minutes before opening.

6.       Scoop the sauce into a bowl and add a little milk or cream to loosen the mixture and whisk until you get a pouring consistency.

OK, you are finally ready to serve this masterpiece. Cut a nice square of the cake and place it on your serving plate. Get a scoop of your ice cream and place on top. Add some popcorn and drizzle with the dulce de leche sauce. Get stuck in.