I recently saw a video on TikTok of someone making a tres leches cheesecake.
TRES LECHES….PLUS….CHEESECAKE.
My mind was very much blown. I was witnessing 2 desserts that I love very much, being stuck together. I just knew I had to try it!
Video Tutorial
Breakdown of the tres leches cheesecake
This cheesecake has 3 different parts.
The first part is the cake layer.
The second part is the tres leches mixture, which was just some whole milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk mixed together. I just poured this on top of the baked cake layer.
The last part was the cheesecake.
I debated whether I should do a baked or a no-bake cheesecake for this. Both kinds of cheesecakes are great, I do usually lean towards baked ones though.
But for this, I did some critical thinking. If I were to make a baked cheesecake. I would have had to bake the cake and cheesecake layers separately, chill them separately and then put them together….it just seemed like too much extra work.
So I just went with a no-bake cheesecake instead!
Ingredients for the cake layer
The ingredients for the cake layer are basic ingredients, there are a few I wanted to talk about though!
The sugar
I used granulated sugar for this, caster sugar works great too.
The oil
I like to add some oil into the cake batter, just for some moisture. I always get asked questions about what oil I use for my cakes.
I use vegetable oil, rapeseed oil to be more specific.
However, any flavourless oil works!
The lemon juice
The cake we are making for this relies on whipped eggs for its structure.
With cakes like this, since the eggs are the main ingredient, there is a risk that the cake can sometimes end up tasting a little eggy.
I feel like lemon juice, as well as the vanilla, does a great job at getting rid of the eggy taste. So I recommend adding it.
But you can leave it out if you wanted too, it’s a nice addition but it doesn’t make a huge difference.
Make sure to add the vanilla though, this cake needs it!
Preventing the cake from deflating
With cakes that use whipped eggs for its main structure, there is a risk of them deflating after baking.
The best way to prevent this is by not opening your oven door for at least 40 minutes, you want to keep the heat inside of the oven.
I recommend baking this cake for around 50 minutes. But every oven does work differently, so it’s ok to check on the cake after 40 minutes. Just don’t open the oven door or take the cake out any earlier than this.
With that being said, sometimes things happens. If you watched my video, my cake did deflate a little.
Even if this happens, it will still taste great, you will just have a smaller, slightly less fluffy cake. So don’t worry about it, it’s not a huge deal if it does happen!
Why did you not grease and line your cake tin?
With cakes like this, ones that use whipped eggs. In order for them to rise as they bake, the cake batter needs to grip to the sides of the tin.
If we grease the sides of the tin, the batter won’t be able to do this, so it’s better to leave it un-greased.
I usually say to just add a circle of baking paper to the bottom of the tin, but since we’re adding a milk mixture after the cake has baked, it’s better not to add any baking paper because it will just go soggy.
What kind of tin should I use?
You want to use a loose bottom/springform cake tin for this tres leches cheesecake.
Using this kind of tin will make it easier to get the cheesecake out.
Once the cheesecake has set, just run a knife around the sides, then open the tin!
Ingredients for the cheesecake
To make the no-bake cheesecake batter, you only need 5 ingredients. Here’s what those ingredients are:
- Cream cheese – make sure to use full fat cream cheese for this.
- Granulated sugar – caster sugar works too.
- Vanilla extract – for flavour.
- Lemon juice – this adds flavour but it is also added because it helps thicken the cheesecake. Try not to leave this out, it makes the texture of the cheesecake much better in my opinion.
- Double cream – also known as heavy cream. If you live in a place that doesn’t have either, whipping cream will work I think…I’ve never tried it. But from what I’ve heard, it will work, your cheesecake will just be a little softer.
Do I have to leave the tres leches cheesecake in the fridge overnight?
Yes….don’t try skipping this step.
The cheesecake needs time to set. The texture and taste of it will be so much better the next day.
6 hours in the fridge is long enough, but I do think overnight is better!
I make a lot of cheesecakes. I like cheesecake. Here are some other ones I think you should take a look at:
Tres Leches
Cheesecake
Ingredients
- For the cake layer:
3 egg whites
40g granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
40g granulated sugar
25ml any flavourless oil (I use vegetable)
25ml milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g plain flour
- For the milk mixture:
100ml whole milk
150ml evaporated milk
150g condensed milk
- For the cheesecake batter:
500g cream cheese
100g granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon juice
200ml double cream
Directions
- Making the cake layer:
- Start by pre-heating your oven to 180c/350f.
- In a large bowl, add the egg whites. Whip these until they start to get foamy, then slowly pour in the first 40g of sugar into this, whiles still whipping. Once all the sugar has been added, whip until you get stiff peaks. Leave this aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks and the second 40g of sugar. Whip these together until the mixture lightens in colour and almost doubles in volume.
- Add the oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract into this and whisk until combined. Now whisk in the flour, just until you get a smooth batter.
- Add half of the whipped egg whites into this batter and gently fold them in. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold until you can no longer see any lumps or steaks of the egg whites.
- Pour this batter into an 8 inch loose bottom/spring form cake tin. Make sure NOT to grease or line this tin.
- Bake for around 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- The milk mixture:
- In a bowl or large jug, mix together the milk, evaporated and condensed milk.
- Once your cake has baked and cooled for about 20 minutes, poke holes into it using a knife, then start to pour the milk mixture over it. Don't pour it all on at once, add a little bit, let it soak into the cake, then add more. Keep repeating until you've used it all.
- Leave this aside whiles you make the cheesecake batter.
- Making the cheesecake batter:
- In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix until smooth.
- Now add the cream and whip just until you get a thick batter.
- Add this into the tin, on top of the cake layer, and spread it out.
- Leave this to set in the fridge overnight. The next day, take it out of the tin, cut into it and enjoy!
