Coquito Tres Leches Cake

Happy New Year everyone!!! Although the Christmas season may be over in the U.S., this simply ain't so in Puerto Rico.  There's still Three Kings' Day or El Día de los Reyes in January 6th!  And what better way to celebrate than with this deliciously simple cake? Even if you don't celebrate Three Kings' Day, this moist and tasty cake is perfect for any special occasion, or just for sticking in the fridge and eating a piece a day for a week. I'm not helping with those New Year resolutions, right? :D  Don't worry.  Healthier recipes will be coming soon.  But for now, I hope you enjoy this delightful dessert.  

So the first thing you gotta do is preheat the oven to 350.  Then, as shown by my lovely cousins, prepare a 9x13 pan with butter and flour and separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a large bowl and the egg yolks in a medium bowl.  

Afterwards, add 1/2 cup of sugar to each bowl.  Beat the egg whites until they are very stiff and beat the egg yolks until they are very thick and they turn a pale yellow.  Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture.  Then, fold in flour, 1/3 cup at a time until just combined.  

Now pour the simplest cake batter you've ever made into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until it passes toothpick test.  

And now for my favorite part of this recipe, the coquito!  Grind the almonds in a blender until they form a powder.  Then, it's as easy as adding the rest of the ingredients and blending them together.  

Once the cake is cool, poke as much holes as you want (the more the merrier) into the cake and slowly pour the coquito in, stopping every time it's about to overflow to give it a chance to absorb, and then continuing until you've poured all of it into the cake.  It will seem like too much, but it's not.  That's just how tres leches cake rolls.  ;)  Cover the pan in plastic wrap and place the pan inside a grocery bag.  Stick it in the fridge overnight.  

Cut the cake into squares and serve each piece on a plate with a dollop of whipped cream and cinnamon.  

Coquito Tres Leches Cake

The sponge cake is adapted from: Three Ingredient Italian Sponge Cake 


Ingredients:

Sponge Cake:

• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup cake flour

Coquito:

• 1 handful of almonds (optional)
• 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk 
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk 
• 1  (15 oz) can cream of coconut 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger (optional)

Garnish:

• Whipped cream
• Cinnamon

Note: I used cream of coconut in the coquito because that is how we usually make it.  However, it comes out very thick, which is nice for drinking, but not ideal for the cake because it doesn't permeate it completely.  We made two batches of coquito and each time we served a piece of cake we poured a little bit more coquito over it.  Next time, I plan to add one can of coconut milk to the coquito to thin it out and then pour it over the cake.  I believe that in this way we won't have to make two batches.  So feel free to experiment and let me know in the comments how it goes. ;) You can also substitute my coquito recipe for your own favorite.  

Directions:

1. Sponge Cake: Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare 9x13 rectangular cake pan with butter and flour.
2. Place egg whites in large mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup of sugar.
3. Place egg yolks in medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup of sugar.  
4. Beat egg whites until very stiff.
5. Beat egg yolks until very thick and pale yellow.
6. Fold egg yolk mixture into egg white mixture.
7. Fold in flour, 1/3 cup at a time until just combined.
8. Pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan.  
9. Coquito: Grind almonds into a powder in the blender. 
10. Add evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream of coconut, coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger.  Blend together until thoroughly mixed. 
11. Assembly and Garnish: Poke as many holes as you wish into the cake with wooden skewers or a fork.  Slowly pour all of the coquito on the cake, stopping every time it's about to overflow to give it a chance to absorb.  Finish pouring all of the coquito on the cake, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and place it inside a tied up grocery bag in the fridge overnight.
12. To serve, cut cake into squares and decorate each square with a dollop of whipped cream and cinnamon.