Turmeric Spice Tres Leches Cake

Here is a small tres leches – inspired cake with infused with Indian spices. It is a turmeric vanilla cake soaked overnight in a milk bath infused with cardamom and cinnamon. It is topped with whipped vanilla Greek yogurt and sliced mango.

What is Tres Leches Cake?

Tres leches cake (in English “three milk” cake) is a dessert popular in Latin America composed of a very light sponge cake soaked in a mixture of three different types of milk. The three milk mixture usually consists of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. It is traditionally topped with whipped cream and garnished with strawberries.

What is a Turmeric Spice Tres Leches Cake?

This cake is more dense than the traditional delicate tres leches sponge cake. It has an earthy turmeric flavor and is very yellow in color. The milk mixture is infused with cardamom and cinnamon. It is topped with whipped Greek yogurt instead of whipped cream and garnished with sliced mango instead of strawberries.

The sponge cake soaks in the tres leches mixture overnight or up to two days before serving. This is the ultimate make ahead dessert.

What do I do with leftover tres leches mixture?

Pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze! The cubes can be added to tea or coffee for instant chai flavor!

Recipe Inspiration

I grew up in a predominately Latinx community, where I enjoyed Latin food including tres leches cake. South Asian and Indo-Caribbean desserts are dairy based, so I thought it would be fun to add the flavors of the Indian Diaspora to this much-loved Latin dessert.

Equipment Required

• 6 inch round cake pan
• Whisk, electric whisk or stand up mixer. (Note: If you’re using a manual whisk, this recipe will require a little elbow grease. An electric whisk is a good investment, especially if it has multiple attachments. Check out Tiny Kitchen Survival 101)
• Cake platter with some depth to contain the tres leches mixture

Turmeric Spice Tres Leches Cake

10-12 servings

Note: This is a small cake, but it can be sliced into 10-12 small slices. When serving, drizzle each slice with tres leches mixture that has accumulated at the bottom of the serving platter

Ingredients

For the turmeric cake:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 3 TBS of turmeric
• 1 egg
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

For the tres leches mixture:

• 6 oz of evaporated milk
• 7 oz of condensed milk
• 1/3 cup of half and half
• 1/2 TBS of ground cardamom
• 1/2 TBS of ground cinnamon

For the whipped topping

• 1 cup of vanilla Greek yogurt
• Sliced mango for garnish, or fruit of choice

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray 6 inch round cake pan with nonstick spray
2. Add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, turmeric, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Whisk in softened butter on low speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is somewhat crumbly and resembles wet sand.
4. Whisk in egg until fully combined.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
6. Add milk, Greek yogurt and vanilla. Stir gently with spatula until fully combined
7. Whisk at a high speed to a thick creamy consistency
8. Transfer batter to cake pan
9. Bake for 45 mins or until fully baked. Test with a toothpick or butter knife to see its fully baked.
10. Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely
11. Gently whisk together tres leches mixture ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well combined.
12. Place the cooled turmeric cake on a serving platter.
13. Use a fork or skewer to poke holes all over the top of the turmeric cake
14. Carefully pour tres leches mixture over the top of the cake. It will run over and collect at the bottom of your serving tray. Be careful not to overflow. IF you have leftover tres leches mixture, pour it into an ice cube tray and reeze to add to ice and coffee for instant chai flavor.
15. Cover the cake with cling wrap
16. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days
17. Before serving, whisk the vanilla Greek yogurt until whipped.
18. Top or cover the entire cake with whipped vanilla Greek yogurt
19. Garnish with sliced mango or fruit of choice. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon if desired
20. When serving, drizzle each slice with the tres leches mixture accumulated at the bottom of cake platter