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Why is it working
- The use of Dutch cocoa powder – higher in fat and aromatic than natural cocoa powder – is prepared for a tastier chocolate cake.
- Immediate espresso powder gives the cake the taste of bold coffee.
- The use of vegetable oil – a fat that remains liquid in the cold – lies in a cake that remains soft when cooling.
Coffee and chocolate have long been a popular pairing: the bitterness of coffee improves the fruity, bitter notes of the chocolate and adds the depth of a pleasant taste. This affinity is why you often see a teaspoon of instant espresso or coffee cakes and chocolate. However, the favorite way to enjoy a combination is most obvious: like Mokka. The espresso has just enough bitterness to balance the rich sweets of chocolate and milk, so this means a luxury drink. This flavor profile is particularly fine dessert– But why stop at a teaspoon of espresso powder in a dessert when you can flavor the whole mocha?
Serious meal / qi ai
This leads to the Tres Leches cake, which usually consists of a vanilla cake that is generously soaked in full milk or heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk and then whipped cream. The cake absorbs milk, becoming incredibly wet and almost pudding. The classic tres leches vanilla cake has a neutral flavor, which is a great basis for other flavors, and I decided to RIFF if I integrated a mocha taste. The bitterness of coffee and chocolate complements the rich milk flavors of the tres leches cake and helps the intense sweetness of the dessert.
Serious meal / qi ai
Instead of going the traditional vanilla route, I make my sponge cake with a combination of cocoa powder and instant espresso, and soak it in a mixture of heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk – each flavored with instant espresso. The last touch is a whipped cream blanket, as well as light dusting of cocoa powder and cinnamon.
3 tips to make stars
Make a lightweight, fluffy cake. I like to use a chiffon cake as the basis of my tres leches cake because it has an air crumb that is perfect for soaking liquids. Its light texture comes from the whipped egg whites, which are carefully folded into the dough. So, for making a strong meringue, it is essential to whip the egg whites for a long time at low speed, instead of whipping them quickly at high speeds. As a serious Eats leading editor Geneviet Touches chocolate foamThe air bubbles in egg whites are smaller and more stable, the longer they are hit, so a meringue that is less willing to descend – and a pleasantly light cake.
Serious meal / qi ai
Reach the Dutch process of cocoa powder. As a previous editor Stella parks Notes in your guide to a The best cocoa powdersThe ingredient is usually classified as a natural or Dutch process. According to Stella, most natural cocoa powder comes from poor quality cocoa beans that “almost all the cocoa butters have been removed”, which has a dull dust that did not have rich chocolate taste.
On the other hand, most Dutch-form cocoa powder comes from a better bean and twice as fat as natural cocoa powder. As a result, “a slightly alkaline cocoa powder that is higher in fat, lower in the starch and around the whole aromatic, mahogany color and taste profile, which emphasizes the darker, Nuttier sounds of the cocoa.” So, for a cake with a maximum chocolate flavor, especially in a way that comes from cocoa powder, it is essential to reach a high-quality Dutch processing cocoa powder.
Use an instant espresso port. There are many ways to incorporate coffee into a dessert, including cooked coffee or espresso, coffee extract or instant espresso. Here I am medalized with an instant espresso powder made by frozen dryer concentrated espresso. Its concentrated taste makes it ideal for dessert installation, as it would bring bold coffee aroma without introducing a lot of liquid into the cake cell.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This Tres Leches cake comes together quite quickly, but then soak for at least three hours or one day. This long soaking means that the cake is easy to advance; This and the fact that the cake serves 15 people makes it perfect for the parties.
20 minutes active time all you need for this juicy mokka tres leches cake
Cooking method
(Keep on the screen awake)
To the cake:
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1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oilPlus even for grease
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10 1/4 ounce universal flour (290 g; 2 1/4 cup)
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1 tablespoon baking powder (1/2 ounce; 15 g)
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1 1/2 ounce Dutch process cocoa powder (40 g; 1/2 cup)
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1/2 cup (120 ml) full milk
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2 tablespoon (10 g) instant espresso
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6 large eggseparated (350 g)
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1 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt; For table salt, use half a quantity
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10 1/2 ounce crystal sugar (300 g; 1 1/2 cup)
To the soaking liquid:
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1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
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One 12 ounces box evaporated milk
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One 14-plus box sweetened compressed milk
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2 teaspoon instant espresso
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1/8 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt; For table salt, use half a quantity
To compile:
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1 1/2 cup (355 ml) heavy cream
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2 1/2 tablespoon confectionery (1 1/4 ounce; 35 g)
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4 1/2 teaspoon Dutch process cocoa powdershared
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1/8 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt; For table salt, use half a quantity
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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To the cake: Set the baking rack to the middle position and heat to 160 ° C 325 ° F. Lightly grease the 9-13-inch oven with a frying pan with vegetable oil.
Serious meal / qi ai
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Fine mesh sieve, sieve flour, baking powder and cocoa powder in a medium bowl; Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the milk and instant espresso powder. Stir until the espresso powder is dissolved, then mix the vegetable oil. Set aside.
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Combine the egg whites and salt in the whisk mixed bowl. The egg white is approx. It does not start egg whites for 1 minute. The mixer then continues to pour the sugar at medium speed, slowly and continuously. Continue whisking until the meringue is shiny and the rigid peaks reach, approx. 8 minutes. Add an egg yolk and beat until it is united
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If the rack mixer runs low, sprinkle the flour mixture for approx. 1/3 and then sift on 1/3 of the milk and coffee mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk and mix with a flexible spatula to scrape the bowl and beats until the dough is combined well for 3-5 minutes. Use a flexible spatula to scrap the dough into the prepared pan and bake it until a toothpick or cake test is inserted and the cake retracts when gently touched for 30-35 minutes. Place the pan on a wire stand and cool completely, approx. 1 hour. (Clean the mixing bowl and set aside.)
Serious meal / qi ai
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For the soaking liquid: In a medium bowl, combine heavy cream, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, instant espresso powder and salt, and whisk until the espresso powder is approx. Not dissolved for 1 minute.
Serious meal / qi ai
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Run a offset spatula or butter knife around the edges of the cake to loosen. Turn the cake on a cutting board. Gently remove the top of the cake with a toothed knife; Set aside the rest for snacks or other use. Return the cake to the frying pan and use a skewer or fork to pass holes over the cake surface. Pour half of the soaking liquid over the whole cake. Allow the liquid to absorb completely, approx. For 5 minutes, then pour the remaining liquid into the cake. Loosely cover the baking dish with plastic packing and cool completely cooled for at least 2 hours and 24 hours.
Serious meal / qi ai
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To compile: The whisk -equipped rack mixer, the large cream, the sugar of the confectioners, the 1 1/2 teaspoon of cocoa powder and the salt. Beat at medium to high speed until medium rigid peaks form for 2-4 minutes. Use a flexible or offset spatula to spread the whipped cream on the cake.
Serious meal / qi ai
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Gently sift the remaining 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and cinnamon mixture over whipped cream. Slice and serve.
Serious meal / qi ai
Special equipment:
9 to 13-inch baking dish, fine mesh sieve, rack mixer, elastic spatula, toothpick or cake tester, offset spatula or butter knife
Make-up and storage:
After baking and cooling (step 4), the cake can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 week or up to 3 months.
The cake must be served within 24 hours of soaking.