Tres Leches Sponge Cake

Ingredients

Cake Sponge

• 3 eggs, room temp and separated into whites and yolks
• ½ cup granulated sugar (110g), divided into 2 portions
• 1tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• ⅔ cup all purpose flour (85g)
• 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
• 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar (optional)

Three Milk Mixture

• ¾ of a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (300g) 
• 1 12 oz can of evaporated milk (350g)
• ½ cup milk (120g)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder (optional)

Decoration

• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream, chilled and whipped to stiff peaks (300g)
• Fresh berries of choice

Direction

Cake Sponge

1. Preheat your oven to 350F (conventional) and prepare a 9″ cake pan with parchment paper (no butter needed)
2. Separate the egg whites and yolks into 2 bowls, taking care not to get any yolk into the whites
3. To the yolks, add half of the sugar, salt and vanilla, and whisk for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy
4. Add the milk and stir to combine
5. Sift in the flour, cornstarch and baking powder, and gently mix until combined
6. Add the cream or tartar to the egg whites, and use a clean mixer to whisk until frothy. Slowly add the other half of the sugar while whisking, and keep whisking until a shiny, stiff meringue is formed (you should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the meringue falling out)
7. Add the meringue to the remaining cake batter in 2-3 additions, and use a rubber spatula to very gently fold it in. Take care not to knock out the air or overmix
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with light crumbs attached
9. Let the cake cool down in the pan 

Soaking

1. Mix the ingredients of the three milk mixture in a bowl. Taste and adjust as needed
2. Keeping the cake in the pan, poke holes in it using a skewer. Carefully flip the cake out of the pan and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. This will remove a thin layer of crust, leaving the inside of the cake exposed on the bottom. Place it back in the pan upside down, and poke more holes all over
3. Slowly pour the three milk mixture onto the cake. If baked properly, it should soak up the mixture easily. If you want, reserve some of the milk mixture for serving (but you can also just soak it all up)
4. Keep the cake in the fridge until it has absorbed the liquid

Decoration

1. Very carefully flip the cake onto your serving stand
2. Add a thick layer of whipped cream on top and spread it evenly, then decorate with berries. You can also use a knife to create the impression of slices like I did, to mimic the L’ETO Caffe look
3. Slice up & enjoy!