The Milky Way

Ingrid and I have baked up some more cupcakes together from Martha's Cupcakes! This time it was her choice and she chose Tres Leches Cupcakes-- a sponge [cup]cake baked into foil liners (that's important!) that is doused in a sweet mixture of three milks, then topped with sweetened whipped cream with a dusting of cinnamon.

I made these to take to my mother's house for dinner. No surprise there as she loves tres leches cake! I really liked the milk mixture- a combination of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream. I also subbed a little flavored creamer for the heavy cream for a subtle flavor. It was really quite tasty.

The hardest part was waiting for the cake to absorb the milk mixture. It took about an hour to get all the milk absorbed into the cake. You have to brush the cake with the milk mixture until it's all gone. It's a little sticky and messy but nothing that's not easily cleaned up. Once I was done with the cupcakes, I placed them on paper plates lined with waxed paper to keep them from sticking.

I was surprised by how sturdy the cupcakes actually were. I thought for sure they'd get soggy and fall apart after a day, but they didn't. In the cookbook, it says that these should be eaten within a day of making them, but we ate ours for 3 days. They were just as good on day 3 as they were on the first day and not at all soggy.

Tres Leches Cupcakes from Martha's Cupcakes

For the cake:

• 6 large eggs. separated, room temp.
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

For the milk mixture:

• 1- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

For the whipped cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream, very cold
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• ground cinnamon, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper lined foil liners.

In the electric or stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the baking soda and salt, until you get soft peaks. Turn mixture on low but keep beating and add the egg yolks, one by one, then add the sugar. Beat til completely combined.

Turn off the mixer and add fold in melted butter, with a spatula until incorporated. Add the flour in four additions, folding carefully just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the liners, filling each halfway. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating halfway through until golden brown. immediately poke the cakes with a skewer, making several holes.

In a bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, the evaporated milk and the cream until well blended. With the cupcakes still in their tins, brush milk mixture over the cupcakes, repeating until all the liquid has been used. Allow cupcakes to fully absorb mixture. Once cool top with sweetened whipped cream.

Make the whipped cream: Whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whisk until combined.

Distribute dollops of the cream on the tops of the cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

Make about 20 cupcakes.

Head on over to 3 B's to see Ingrid's cupcakes!