Some say it is really challenging to prepare this Turkish Style Tres Leches dessert, called Trileçe in Turkish. I agree that there are things you must be careful about, but there are no surprises really if you follow all the steps and be a bit patient about the caramel. But if you are still looking for something easier check my Revani recipe which is also a spongy dessert.
I will not comment about the origins of the dessert about which continent or country it is originated from. However I am pretty sure that it came to Turkey from Albany. There are so many people that are from Albany origin living in Turkey; that this can have no question about it. This dessert has become very popular in Turkey recently. I suspect some celebrity had it on tv and suddenly it is in every house and in every restaurant’s menu.
Here is my tested, tried and approved recipe for it.
To start with you need to separate egg whites and yolks. 5 eggs are needed. I have to confess my 13 year old son has taught me this very practical method. First I resisted, but then it is so much fun and so easy, that I always use this method now. You take a small sized plastic bottle, squeeze it slightly and when you remove the pressure it swallows the egg yolk in. There you have the egg yolk separated.
Now all you need to do is add a pinch of salt to the egg yolks and mix with a mixer until it becomes a thick white foam. The rule is if you turn the bowl upside down and the foam doesn’t spill; it is ready. I am not that courageous, so I just bend the bowl slightly if the foam stays still, it is enough for me.
Then add a glass of sugar to the egg whites, mix shortly. Finally add the already slightly whisked egg yolks and add to the egg whites. Mix again with an electrical mixer very shortly. Now you can set aside the electrical mixer and take a wooden spatula in your hand – you will not use the mixer again as you wouldn’t want the fluffiness of the egg whites go away.
When you add the flour and the remaining ingredients make sure that you mix only as much as necessary to blend in the flour. Try to mix softly moving the spatula from bottom to top. When the mixture is smooth pour it into your oven dish. It will not be a very liquid mixture, so you might need to shake it slightly to make sure the mixture is evenly distributed. Then put it in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. It is important that you do not under or over cook. Check with a toothpick to see whether the cake is ready. When you dip the toothpick in the cake and the tooth pick comes out clean; it means that the cake is cooked.
The cake will be a very light one. So if you choose you can even have it as a cake. If you choose to make the dessert; then cut the cake to small squares and make at least 4 little holes with a tooth pick in every square.
The milky mixture is not cooked. You just mix all the ingredients and mix until the milk is bubbly. When the cake is slightly cooled pour it gently all over the cake. Try not to pour the bubbles though. The milky mixture might seem too much, do not hesitate, pour it all, the cake will quickly absorb it all. This will be and it is supposed to be a milky cake. When you cut to serve there will be milk in the bottom, and this is how it should be.
When you put the cake to the oven, it is about the right time to start with the caramel. It needs patience and time. The more you wait and mix, the better result you will get. First start with the sugar and the butter. Put them in a skillet over low heat. Keep this as it is – without mixing until the sugar melts totally. Then add cream and milk, while mixing quickly. The sugar might harden at this stage. Do not worry it gradually melts again. Mix almost continuously after you add the cream and milk until you obtain a smooth caramel texture.
When the cake has absorbed the milky mixture you are ready to pour the caramel on top. If there are milky bubbles on top of the cake, either just pat or clean them away with your hands or a paper kitchen towel. There, your dessert is ready.
Put the dessert into the fridge and serve cold. Some prefer to serve the caramel warm at the very last moment. That is with a cold milky cake with warm caramel sauce. Totally up to you. Enjoy.
Turkish Style Tres Leches / Trileçe
Ingredients
The cake
- 5 medium eggs
- 275 grams sugar
- 185 grams flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 grams baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 10 grams butter to grease the oven dish
For the milky mixture
- 720 millilitres milk
- 400 milliliters heavy cream
- 150 grams milk powder
For the caramel sauce
- 125 grams brown sugar
- 15 grams butter
- 200 millilitres cream
- 120 millilitres milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Lightly butter a baking dish.
- Separate the egg whites and yolks. Put the whites is a large mixing bowl. The yolks in a smaller one.
- Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Mix using a mixer until you obtain a snow-like thick mixture.
- Add the sugar add mix again with a mixer for 5 more minutes.
- Mix the egg yolks in a separate bowl with a mixer. Then add the egg yolks to the egg whites slowly and while mixing with the mixer. Also add the vanilla extract.
- First sieve the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Then slowly add to the eggs, while mixing with a wooden spoon this time. Mix from bottom to top, try not to loose the fluffiness.
- When you obtain a smooth mixture, pour it into the baking dish. Try to spread the mixture evenly. If necessary shake slightly to make even.
- Bake until the cake is cooked. Check with a tooth pick. Dip the tooth pick in the cake, if it comes out clean it means that the cake is ready, take it out of the oven. It will take about 40 minutes.
Caramel
- It takes quite some time for the sugar to be caramelized; so as soon as you put the cake in the oven start preparing the caramel.
- Put the butter and the sugar in a skillet. Wait paitently, over low heat, without mixing, until this mixture turns brown. Once the sugar has melted you can mix.
- Add the milk and the cream slowly, while mixing really fast. At this stage the sugar might turn stiff, don’t worry it will melt again. Mix until you obtain a caramel texture. You need to be patient for this, it does take time, but eventually your effort will pay off.
Milky Mixture
- In a deep bowl mix the milk and the milk powder until they are bubbly.
- Add the cream and mix for another 2 minutes.
- This mixture is not cooked.
Combining
- When the cake cools; cut the cake to serving size squares. Also make about 4 holes in each square with a tooth pick.
- Then pour the milky mixture evenly on all the cake. The cake will completely absorb the milky mixture very quickly.
- Most probably there will be bubbles left on top of the cake. When all the milky mixture is absorbed. Pat them down with a spoon or similar. If there are still some remaining, clean them away gently with your hand or with a paper kitchen towel.
- Finally pour the caramel on top of the cake to cover all over the cake. Keep in fridge and serve cold.
- You can opt to pour the hot caramel on a chilled cake to make it fancier, not a must.
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