Claire Saffitz Whipped Cream Tres Leches Cake | What's For Dessert

Claire Saffitz Whipped Cream Tres Leches Cake | What’s For Dessert
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that as a dessert person, and more specifically as a cake person, I hadn’t spent much time getting to know tres leches cake, a beloved Latin American dessert, prior to this book. But, as tres leches is a sponge cake soaked liberally with three kinds of dairy (usually sweetened condensed and evaporated milks, and one other), I knew we’d be a good match. At the time I developed this recipe, I’d been playing around with the idea of a sponge cake lightened with whipped cream rather than egg whites. The whipped cream contributes butterfat as well as air, producing a sponge that is light but firm—absolutely perfect, as it happens, for tres leches cake, which needs sufficient structure to be able to absorb all that liquid. When I tasted my first test, the delicate flavors of cinnamon and cream called out for a toasted nut, so I added finely chopped toasted hazelnuts to the batter. The result is a slightly unusual but very special cake.

#treslechescake #cake #clairesaffitz

WHIPPED CREAM HAZELNUT SPONGE
Neutral oil for the pan
1⁄2 cup blanched hazelnuts (2 oz / 57g)
1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream (10.6 oz / 300g), chilled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (9.5 oz / 270g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1⁄2 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
3⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7 large eggs (12.3 oz / 350g), at room temperature
1 cup sugar (7 oz / 200g)
SOAK AND ASSEMBLY
2 cups whole milk (16 oz / 480g)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (10.5 oz / 298g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of kosher salt
4 cups heavy cream (32 oz / 960g), chilled, divided
Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

What’s for Dessert by Claire Saffitz is out now: https://geni.us/WjcIbfp
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Video Series:
Producer/Director: Vincent Cross
Camera Operator: Calvin Robertson
Editor: Hal McFall
Assistant Editor: Asher Rogers
Theme Song: Michael Guggino

Animation Credits:
Character Designer/Animator: Jack Sherry
Character Rigger: Johara Dutton
Background/Prop Designer: M. Cody Wiley
Background Illustrator: Jagriti Khirwar

11 Replies to “Claire Saffitz Whipped Cream Tres Leches Cake | What's For Dessert”

  1. Would subbing the hazelnuts with pistachio and using a tiny bit of rosewater in the cream work do you think?

  2. This looks so delicious! I'm so excited to try this since whipping egg whites is so intimidating without a mixer!

  3. This looks amazing even though it's not the traditional mix of milks! Is it possible to cut the ingredients in half to prepare a smaller cake? Or how would you adjust it? I'd love to try it but as it is it's huge for a single guy living by himself 😅

  4. Oh my GOD! This is a dream come true, Claire elevates everything to perfection. I'm Mexican, it's so hard sometimes to find a good tres leches because sometimes they come out bland. Absolutely cannot wait to try this asap.

  5. Claire, I'm allergic to cinnamon. Can I use allspice or nutmeg instead? Also I have heard fruit is traditionally put on top. So you think berries and the hazelnut will still be good together, or should I use one or the other.

  6. a little more soak so that it sits in a little pool… you can drink it afterwards.. 🫠

  7. Ingredients’ cost: Everything but eggs: $2.16. Eggs: $1 Million Dollars! Worth it!

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