Muchas Leches Cake | Project Pastry Queen

I've been eyeing this recipe for a very long time so when it was my turn to host Project Pastry Queen this week, I jumped at the chance to make this adaption of the traditional tres leches cake. What sets this cake apart from the others is the incorporation of two additional creams/milks: cream of coconut and dulce de leche. The result is a more rich and flavorful liquid in which to drench the layers of cake in. What stood out the most about this cake was the sugared almonds - they were fantastic and added a layer of texture and crunch that you wouldn't normally find in a tres leches. I will definitely be using these sugared almonds for my cakes in the future.

Muchas Leches Cake with Sugared Almonds
adapted from The Pastry Queen

Ingredients

Cake
4 cups (16 ounces) blanched almonds
1 1/4 cups plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Soaking Liquid
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup dulce de leche
1/2 cup sweetened cream of coconut
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Sugared Almonds
4 large egg whites
4 cups sliced almonds
1 cup sugar

Frosting
4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting
Fresh berries

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12x17 inch baking pan (I used three 9-inch pans) with parchment paper and coat it with butter or cooking spray. Finely grind the almonds with the 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and the 1 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed about 3-4 minutes, until the mixture lightens in color and becomes fluffy. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Fold in the ground almond mixture.



In a separate clean, large bowl,use a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites on high speed 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in the beaten egg whites into the batter.



Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pans. Use a spatula to distribute the batter smoothly and evenly (this is an important step because the batter will not even out in the pan as it bakes). Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the cake is firm to the touch. Cool for five minutes then invert onto a rack that has been greased with a light coating of cooking spray. Decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.



To make the soaking liquid
Whisk together the cream, dulce de leche, cream of coconut, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla in a medium bowl

To make the sugared almonds
Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Stir in the almonds and sugar, making sure the nuts are evenly coated.



Spread the almonds evenly in a baking pan and bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning and to break up the almonds.



To make the frosting
Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream in a large bowl on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and whip until incorporated and the frosting is thick enough to spread on easily.

Place 1 cake quarter on a large serving plate. Brush liberally with one-quarter of the soaking liquid.



Frost the top with the whipped cream frosting. Set the second layer directly on top of the first. Brush with a quarter of the soaking liquid. Repeat with the remaining layers.



Frost the sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Press the cooled almonds gently into the frosting on the sides and the top of the cake, covering it completely.



Garnish with the berries on top. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Dust with a light coating of powdered sugar. Covered in plastic wrap, the cake will keep in the fridge about 2 days.



Notes
I am really sad to say that my cake looks a lot better than it ended up tasting. I had really high expectations and was thoroughly disappointed. My idea of a great tres leches is a cake DRENCHED in liquid. The challenge with making a three-layer cake is that you don't have the option of letting the layers soak in all the liquid. My cake ended up being quite dry and you could barely taste any of the liquid, if at all. In retrospect, I should have just whipped up some additional soaking liquid and served it on the side for people to pour on their slices. If I were to make this again, I'd probably bake the cake as a single layer in a 9x13 dish and just pour the liquid in to drench the cake.

On a positive note, the sugared almonds are my new best friend. They were delicious and pretty much saved my cake from being a total dud. I did have some challenges with it though. For some reason, in making the sugared almonds, there was a higher egg whites:sliced almond ratio than I anticipated. That combined with a smaller baking sheet resulted in my baking the almonds close to 40-50 minutes (rather than the 10 min in the book). There was no way my almonds could have toasted in such a short amount of time – WAY too wet. I had to take the tray out every 10 min or so to give the almonds a good stir to make sure it browned evenly. It could have been that I did not whip my whites dry enough too - will definitely need to dry out the whites more next time.