Egg Nog Tres Leches Cake
I have a confession.... I have never had egg nog before.... What!? Yes, it's true. Not until this recipe had I ever drank a glass or even bought a carton of egg nog. It's not an Asian holiday tradition. Shocking, I know. Growing up, I would hear about the sweet/boozy concoction, but since my parents thought it was gross (you're drinking raw eggs!?) I never had the chance to taste it. So as I was coming up with recipe ideas for the holidays, I decided I wanted to dress up some family favorites. Since, Tres Leches is my brother in law's favorite cake and egg nog is basically a mixture of milk, cream and nutmeg. Egg Nog Tres Leches is where this holiday train was going! Though, with the egg nog, it's probably more like a quatro or cinco leches cake, but who cares, when it's so good and seriously one of the easiest make ahead Holiday desserts!
This cake is inspired by a recipe I've been using for years from my trusty ol' "Joy of Cooking" cookbook. I bought it when I first got married and used it for so many of our favorite dishes. Though I am guilty of using the same recipes over and over again. But when they're this good, who cares!? Along with The Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic and Chicken Paprikash , this Tres Leches recipe are well worn pages in my book.
The cake for this is a classic sponge cake that I spiced up for the holidays with nutmeg and cinnamon. The egg whites are beaten with sugar till stiff peaks then egg yolks and flour are beaten in along with some milk. It seems a but strange to beat in egg yolks that way, especially since many other sponge cake recipes calls for gently folding in beaten egg yolks. But this method still creates a light, airy cake that's sturdy enough to soak up all that delicious sweet milk. The milk mixture is a spiced up concoction of evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream and egg nog. Ok, so I probably should have called this the Quatro leches cake... but it just doesn't seem right...
Once the cake is baked and cooled a bit, it's time to poke the bejeezus out of it. Poke poke poke, all over the cake to create even more areas for the cake to become saturated with the milk mixture. Then slowly.... pour it on...all over the cake, making sure to cover every nook and cranny. Once all the milk has been poured onto the cake, it's time to refrigerate. I usually leave it overnight, just make sure its really good and soaked. Which makes it a great, make ahead dessert! Then when it's ready to serve, I like to top it with fresh made whipped cream and sprinkled with nutmeg.
Egg Nog Tres Leches Cake
* adapted from "The Joy of Cooking"
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/8 tsp cream of tarter
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup milk
Milks:
- 3/4 cup egg nog
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 12 oz can condensed milk
- 1 14 oz can Evaporated Milk
Topping:
- 2 Cups of Heavy Cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- nutmeg for sprinkling over the top
Method
- Pre heat the oven to 350F and grease a 9X9 pan.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the four, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tarter ill it reaches soft peaks form.
- Gradually add in the sugar and beat till it reaches stiff peaks
- Add in the egg yolks and beat till combined.
- Then gradually add in the flour mixture a 1/4 cup at a time.
- Once evenly mixed, add in the milk and mix till just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan and make the milk mixture.
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg nog and heavy cream.
- With the cake in the pan poke it with a skewer every 1/2- 1 inches. Slowly pour the milk mixture all over the cake, making sure to saturate every inch.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
- Top with freshly whipped cream (while together the heavy cream and sugar till it gets stiff) and a sprinkle of nutmeg.