Recipe: Banana Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake is a delicious sweet cake …. I posted the recipe for the basic recipe last year…. a dessert worthy of guests and yet so easy to make. This recipe for Banana Tres Leches Cake is a slight adaptation of the original… with its light banana and coconut flavors mingling… and the sweetness of the milks… it truly is a special treat.

This recipe is not something that I came up with… I ran across the recipe at Betty Crocker… and thought it would be a good thing to try… as many of you that come here frequently … I’m always in the market for a new banana recipe… I seem to always have ripe bananas to use up….

Both Bubba and Warren are banana lovers… so a banana cake is right up their alley… and yes.. Bubba the wonder dog… loves… I mean loves … bananas. He shares a banana with Warren most mornings. He knows that if there’s banana bread in the house he gets to share some of Warren’s piece… he will come in from the yard in the morning and go straight to where the banana bread is and patiently sit there staring at it as if to say… I’m here! He was beside himself watching me make the cake.

The only change I made was to add a some additional instructions.. which I think will help make the best end result. I mash my bananas in my mixing bowl with the paddle attachment until the bananas are well mashed .. I find in this kind of cake it’s best for the banana mixture not to be lumpy.

TIPS

Make sure to use coconut milk not cream of coconut… you can usually find it in the international section of the grocery store.

Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk not evaporated milk…. there is a big difference between the two.

Very ripe bananas are the easiest to work with.

If you need to know How to Toast Coconut Flakes… click the link and see my post.

You do not remove the cake from the baking pan/dish … keep it in the pan… cool for an hour and then pierce with a fork and continue to follow the directions. To serve cut pieces from the pan.

Wipe the fork periodically so make clean piercings in the cake.

Use a batter bowl with a spout or a large measuring cup or us a soup ladle to pour the milk mixture over the cake.

You can use store bought frosting or homemade… homemade is really easy and so much better.

Although it will look difficult to get the cut pieces out of the pan.. it is surprisingly easy… use a knife and a flat cake server.. be sure to wipe the knife in between cuts.

I like to cut the pieces first then frost them… I think it’s easier to get them out of the pan.

For guests, cut the pieces and place on serving plates, frost and sprinkle with toasted coconut.. and serve the pieces as they do in restaurants instead of cutting the cake at the table.

There may be a small puddle of milk on the bottom of the baking pan.. that’s okay.. it the baker’s prize.. they get to spoon it out … yummm!

Beware … this cake is addictive!






Recipe: Banana Tres Leches Cake

All you need:

1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix
1 ¼ cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup (2 medium) mashed bananas
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
½ cup (from 14 oz.) can coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
½ cup heavy cream
Fluffy White Frosting
Toasted coconut

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for a dark or nonstick pan).

Grease the bottom only of a 13 x 9 baking dish or baking pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth with the paddle attachment.

Add the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. With the mixer set on low speed, beat until combined (about 30 seconds to a minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Turn the mixer up to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish/pan.

Bake for 33 to 38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool completely (about 1 hour).




Using a fork, pierce the cake about every ½ inch. Be sure to wipe the fork periodically to make sure you are making clean pokes into the cake.




In a large bowl (I use a batter bowl with a spout), stir together the milks. If you don’t have a batter bowl with a spout, mix it in a large bowl and pour into a large measuring cup. The spout will help you pour evenly over the cake or use a soup ladle.





Pour the milks evenly over the cake.






Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or over night.

Spread the fluffy white frosting over the cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Store loosely covered in the refrigerator.