Pumpkin tres leches cake has the traditional flavors of the season-pumpkin and spices-with all the gooey goodness of a tres leches cake!
I have a confession to make. I have never, ever, not even once, consumed a pumpkin spice latte.
You might say I’ve put my foot down. I have principles, you know.
I realize that sounds silly and overdramatic. I just honestly don’t understand how the pumpkin spice latte (or PSL, if you’re so inclined) infiltrated our culture so deeply. In September and October, my Facebook feed is full of two things: football and pumpkin spice lattes. I’ve seen quite a few pumpkin spice latte memes, this one being my personal favorite.
Here’s the problem that this white girl who, yes, does enjoy yoga pants, has with the ubiquitous PSL: no. pumpkin. Just the spices that typically accompany pumpkin…cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger (by the way, you can buy this in a jar as pumpkin pie spice).
If it actually contained pumpkin, I’d probably be all about it (well, probably not, because I’m too cheap to actually purchase anything from Starbucks…but I probably would have at least tried it). Heck, if it was called a spice latte I’d probably have tried it. In fact, I think that Starbucks used to have a latte called Gingerbread Spice, and that I was okay with.
My point is, my love for pumpkin runs deep. I loved pumpkin when pumpkin wasn’t cool. I am still the only member of my family who essentially Hoovers up the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving (I make one and then I’m the only person who touches it because you can’t have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie) and I love it in savory recipes too. As a cake? Yaaaaasssss. ??
I was dreaming of pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing (because doesn’t that sound divine?) when it hit me: pumpkin tres leches cake. I love a good three milks cake, with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk (some recipes call for heavy cream instead of whole milk, but I don’t think that’s necessary or traditional) soaked into the cake, topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream. What’s not to love? I adapted a recipe for standard tres leches cake from Cook’s Country, adding pumpkin and, yes, pumpkin pie spices. What I got was a sweet, tender, moist, amazing pumpkin tres leches cake…that you’ve got to try!
Yield: 20 servings
20 minPrep Time:
40 minCook Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup (8 ounces) evaporated milk
- 1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk
- small amount of butter for greasing the pan
- 2 cups (9 ounces or 255 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (7 grams) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) each allspice, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg
- 8 ounces (2 sticks or 16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (or you can use 15 ounces of pumpkin puree you made yourself)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
- 2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter and set aside.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until the milk has browned slightly and thickened. This only took five minutes in my microwave but may take more or less time in yours. Start with 3 minutes and check frequently.
- Whisk the evaporated milk and the whole milk into the thickened sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the butter and the pumpkin.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, combine the eggs and the sugars on medium speed (if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment) until glossy and slightly thickened. Add the pumpkin/butter mixture and beat until well-incorporated. Add the flour mixture in three additions, beating until fully incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake bounces back when you press lightly on the top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Pour the sauce over the cake. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- To make the frosting, beat the heavy cream, corn syrup, and cinnamon with an electric mixer (using the whisk attachment if using a stand mixer) on high speed until soft peaks form. If there is any liquid that hasn't absorbed into the cake, carefully pour it off. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve and up to 3 days.
Click here to print the recipe for pumpkin tres leches cake!
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