Prep Time: 25 minutes
Baking Time: 45 minutes
Cooling Time: 5 hours
Ready in: 6 hours and 10 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 box white cake mix
3/4 cup + 2 T of water
3 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil
For the milk mixture:
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk*
For the orange curd:
3 eggs yolks
5 T salted butter chilled and cut into cubes*
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 T lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
For the topping:
8 oz cool whip
1 orange (if desired)
1 T Nutmeg (if desired)
Directions:
Step one:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and 8.5 x 11 baking dish.
Step two:
Combine cake mix, egg whites, oil, and water. Mix using a hand mixer on low speed for 2 minutes and then whip for 2 more minutes on medium speed.
Step three:
Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 32-38 minutes until an inserted toothpick/knife comes out clean. Let rest for 30 minutes. Poke holes into cake using a wooden skewer or fork.
Step four:
Combine sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, orange zest and orange juice in a medium saucepan.
Step five:
Cook on medium-high heat stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and then cook for two more minutes. Be careful not to overcook or you will end up with scrambled eggs. The mixture should not run back together when separated with a spoon. Take off heat and stir in the butter piece by piece. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
Step six:
Combine milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. I recommend using a container with a spout.
Step seven:
Pour the milk mixture over the slightly warm cake. It looks like a lot of moisture but the cake will soak it up quickly (check out the photos of this progression).
Step eight:
Cover the cake and let it cool in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Step nine:
Cover the cooled cake with the orange curd and whipped cream. Top with orange slices and nutmeg if desired.
The milk:
I like whole milk but you could do a mixture of any dairy products you have on hand.
The butter:
If you only have unsalted butter just add a pinch of salt with the butter. Or feel free to omit it if you are concerned about your salt intake.
Why I love this recipe:
It is rare to have a recipe that perfectly uses the same amount of egg yolks and egg whites and this one does just that! I normally find Tres Leches cake to be too sweet, but I find that adding the buttery and tangy curd makes it irresistible.