Dos Leches Recipes

DOS LECHES STRAWBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Whip the cream in a bowl using a whisk or hand mixer. Just before soft peaks are formed, add the confectioners' sugar and lime zest. Whip to soft peaks.
• Remove the pound cakes from the freezer and cut each in half vertically with a serrated knife. Then cut each of the halves horizontally. Cut rounds out of each block of cake using a 3-inch cutter. Then cut each round in half horizontally, so you're left with 16 equal-sized rounds.
• For building the cakes: Set a round of pound cake down, pour over some sweetened condensed milk, layer on some diced strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Top with another layer of cake and garnish with a sliced strawberry fanned out on top and some lime zest sprinkled over. Repeat for the remaining cakes.

DOS LECHES CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whip eggs, sugar and salt until tripled in bulk.
• Fold in flour.
• Pour mixture into 9x11-inch, well buttered pan.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes; set aside to cool.
• Poke holes on top of cake. Combine milks and flavoring and pour over cake.
• Allow to soak in at least 2 hours.

DOS LECHES FLAN

Steps:

• Preheat the Oven and Prepare a Water Bath
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Place a rectangular cake pan or roasting pan into the oven and pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Leave the pan in the oven while it preheats.
• Mix the Flan Ingredients
• In a mixing bowl, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, water, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Mix until everything is well blended.
• Make the Caramel
• This is actually much easier than you think. Just make sure you have a nonstick skillet and a heat-proof silicone spatula. Place a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, sprinkle the sugar evenly all over it, and cook. After about 5 minutes, you will see the sugar begin to melt. A few minutes after that, parts of the melted sugar will begin to turn a light brown color. If the sugar is melting unevenly, you can use your silicone spatula to stir it around a bit. If you do, the sugar will clump up a bit, and that is okay. The clumps will eventually melt down-just continue stirring.
• Once all of the sugar has melted (and any clumps have disappeared), pour the caramel into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, preferably a nonstick one. As soon as you pour the caramel into the pan, it will begin to harden, which is okay.
• Pour the Flan Mixture into the Pan and Bake
• Give the flan mixture a quick mix and pour it over the prepared caramel in the pan.
• Place the pan in the center of the water bath. You may hear some crackling, which is the hardened caramel.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester, toothpick, or butter knife inserted in the center of the flan comes out clean. The center will still jiggle a bit.
• Remove the loaf pan from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour. If you are going to unmold the flan in the next hour, leave the water bath in the oven. (After cooling for 45 minutes, you can cover the flan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to unmold it.)
• Unmold and Serve
• You need your water bath again. If you discarded the one used for baking, place enough hot water in a rectangular cake pan or roasting pan to come at least a quarter of the way up the sides of the pan.
• Dip the loaf pan into the hot water and let it sit for a few minutes. You will hear cracking again, which is the caramel loosening up. Remove the loaf pan from the hot water and run a thin knife blade between the flan and the sides of the pan.
• Invert a serving platter over the loaf pan and flip both over, dislodging the flan from the pan. The caramel will drip down onto the platter. (A good amount of caramel will have remained in its solid state in the pan, which is expected.)
• Serve and enjoy!
• COOKING NOTES
• TECHNIQUES
• Making Caramel
• Forget about what you have heard, caramel is easy to make and easy to clean up. You just have to have the right tools: a nonstick pan and a heatproof silicone spatula. Using any other material will make for a messy and long clean up.
• Follow the instructions in the recipe and if the sugar clumps up, keep heating it until it melts.
• Creating a Water Bath
• I find the easiest and safest way to create an oven water bath is to place a deep pan in the oven, fill it with water, and allow it to heat up during the oven preheating time.
• Cleaning the Pans
• The nonstick skillet and silicone spatula will clean up quickly after they have been used. A little hot soapy water should be enough to get all the hardened caramel off.
• The loaf pan is a different story. You will most likely end up with a hardened layer of caramel stuck to your pan. Soak the pan in hot soapy water overnight. The next day, pour out the water and pour in clean hot water. Any remaining caramel should just melt right off.
• ADVANCE PREPARATION
• The flan can be baked and left in its pan, unmolded, in the refrigerator for 2 days. After it has been unmolded, it will keep for another 3 days or so.

MANGO DOS LECHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whip the eggs, sugar, and salt until tripled in volume. Fold in the flour. Pour the mixture into a parchment lined 9 by 11-inch baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Remove the parchment paper and return the cake to the pan. With a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Combine the condensed milk with the scalded milk, mango puree, almond and vanilla extracts, and pour over the cake. Allow the cake to soak in the liquid for 2 hours. Serve with diced mango marinated in dark rum and brown sugar.

DULCE DE LECHE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray; set aside.
• Whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined; set aside.
• Add white sugar and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/3 cup dulce de leche and vanilla; beat until well combined, 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition, 45 seconds. Add flour mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating on low just until combined after each addition. Evenly divide cake batter between prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes.
• Prepare the glaze: Whisk together 1/4 cup dulce de leche and 2 tablespoons milk until mixture is smooth.
• Invert cakes from pans onto a wire cooling rack; set rack on a baking sheet. Using a wooden skewer or fork, gently poke holes all over flat sides (bottoms) of cakes. Pour dulce de leche glaze mixture over cakes and smooth with an offset spatula to coax mixture into holes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare frosting: Beat butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. With mixer running on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in salt. Increase speed to medium, and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, and beat in 1/2 cup dulce de leche and rum (if using) on low speed until just incorporated, 45 seconds.
• Assemble the cake: Set a cake layer on a plate with the flat side (bottom) facing up. Evenly spread 1 cup of the frosting over the cake to the edge. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of hazelnuts. Top with the second cake layer, rounded (top) side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts on top.

SEIS LECHES CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup/150 grams sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, melted butter, milk and vanilla.
• Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk or beaters, set on medium speed, beat the egg whites until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar, and beat until thick, fluffy and white but before peaks form, another 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup/50 grams of sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating until the whites are glossy and firm peaks form when the beaters are lifted, another 3 to 5 minutes.
• Whisk half the flour mixture into the yolks (it will seem like paste). Whisk a quarter of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in another quarter of the whites. Sift half of the remaining flour mixture over the batter and fold in. Fold in another quarter of the egg whites followed by the rest of the sifted flour and finally the rest of the whites. Scrape batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
• Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.
• While the cake is cooling, in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the coconut milk, evaporated milk, condensed coconut milk, condensed milk, rum and a pinch of salt. Heat until steaming, stirring to dissolve any lumps.
• Use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the warm cake, then cut it into 18 pieces but don't take the pieces out of the pan. Pour milk mixture evenly over the cake. Cover and chill cake for at least 8 hours or preferably overnight (or up to 3 days).
• No more than 4 hours before serving, spread 3/4 cup/180 milliliters dulce de leche over top of the cake. Whip the cream with the remaining 1/4 cup/60 milliliters dulce de leche until thick and mousse-like. Spread the whipped cream on the cake, and sprinkle with more cinnamon.

TRES LECHES (MILK CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
• Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
• Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
• Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
• Whip whipping cream, the remaining 1 cup of the sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!