Coquito Tres Leches Cake
Coquito Tres Leches Cake is a delicious sponge cake soaked in my traditional Coquito recipe and topped with Italian Meringue.
Equipment
- 8X3 round cake pan or the one of your choice.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 sticks unsalted butter I used vegan buttery sticks
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 eggs **See notes for vegan**
- 1 tbsp almond extract
- 3 cups self-rising flour spooned and leveled
- 1 cup Coquito You can replace coquito for your choice of milk.
- 1-1/2 cup Coquito for soaking the cake Set aside for soaking the cake after baking.
Italian Meringue
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 room temperature egg whites, preferably from fresh eggs
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Make Coquito and chill for a few hours until cold.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease your pan using non-stick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer beat butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. For about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time. Beating batter just to combine. Do not overmix.
- On low speed add flour alternating with coquito.
- Pour batter into the mold.
- Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Baking time will depend on the type of mold that you use.
- Check the cake with a toothpick/skewer by inserting it in the middle. If it comes out clean with no crumbs on it, the cake is ready to be removed from the oven.
- Remove it to a cooling rack and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. Then invert it onto a cooling rack and allow to completely cool before using.
- Put the cake inside a shallow dish and poke holes using a straw or a kebab stick.
Soaking the Cake:
- Pour 1-1/2 cup of coquito inside a squeeze bottle and soak the cake until the cake absorbs the coquito.
- Refrigerate for while you make the meringue.
Italian Meringue:
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Heat over high heat. Stir constantly.
- Cook until sugar syrup registers 240°F on an instant-read or candy thermometer.
- Meanwhile, add egg whites inside the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Set mixer to medium speed and mix until soft peaks form. About 2 minutes.
- With the mixer running, carefully and slowly drizzle in hot sugar syrup. Increase speed to high and whip until desired stiffness is achieved.
- Beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. The more time you beat the meringue, the more consistency it will have. I beat mine until I'm able to flip the bowl and the meringue stays in place.
- Cover your cake as desire.
Notes
Recipe Notes:
**If you are replacing eggs for aquafaba**Three tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to about one whole egg, while two tablespoons of aquafaba are equivalent to about one egg white. Keep in mind that a can of chickpeas yields about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of this liquid, so about eight to 12 tablespoons. Using a fork beat aquafaba until frothy.
Italian Meringue - For a vegan version you can use aquafaba or you can make a whipped cream buttercream using vegan heavy cream.
Soaking your cake is optional but totally recommended. If you want a really wet cake, put your cake inside a large shallow bowl before soaking.