Rose cardamom tres leches cakefeatured

Rose and cardamom tres leches cake topped with ashta, a lightly-sweetened floral-scented clotted cream.

Middle Eastern desserts are some of the best in the world, with their floral syrups, nutty textures and warm spices. But when it comes to cake, my absolute favourite is tres leches, a Latin sponge cake soaked in three milks giving it a moist and luxurious pudding-like texture. The way the viscous, sweet milk permeates the cake reminds me so much of how Middle Eastern sweets are often doused in sticky, floral-scented qater or simple syrup.

I’ve been baking tres leches cakes for many years and have served them for many, many birthdays. Last month for my Puerto Rican husband’s birthday I decided to take my usual recipe and Egypt-ify it, if you will. So, I borrowed from the beautiful flavours of Middle Eastern sweets and made him a rose, cardamom, and pistachio tres leches birthday cake, topped with a simple version of ashta, a cream that fills and adorns so many Middle Eastern sweets.

And it was AH-MAZING.

Of course, I shared it on Instagram. After I posted it someone directed me to chef Abeer Najjar’s own recipe for rose and cardamom tres leches from several years ago. Chef Abeer is an amazing young Palestinian-American chef with some serious creativity, so I wasn’t surprised she had thought of this before me. While we went for the same flavours, we took very different routes to get there. Abeer uses a boxed yellow cake as her base, and serves the cake in cups that make beautiful individual servings. It’s a perfect dessert that is quick to put together, as she recommends soaking the cups in the milk for 1-2 hours.

Now, here we really diverge.

My cake needs to sit in the milks for 1-2 days.

Yeah, DAYS.

The recipe I usually use for tres leches is one I adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s tres leches. It starts with a sponge cake base, which is traditional for tres leches. He recommends soaking the cake overnight and serving the next day. I’ve done it this way several times. The next day the cake is good, but the following day it is much moister and more decadent, and honestly the third day its just out of this world.

So, I present a make-ahead by two days Middle Eastern tres leches.

If you are like me and like to prepare food ahead, and especially if you are hosting a party where the cake is one of many dishes to prepare, this is the perfect fix. The cake that gets better and better day by day.

It might be hard to resist digging in, but trust me, it is so worth the wait. So, make this rose and cardamom tres leches cake and let me know how it goes in two days!

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Middle Eastern tres leches with rose, cardamom and pistachios

Rose and cardamom tres leches cake topped with ashta, a lightly-sweetened floral-scented clotted cream often used in Middle Eastern desserts 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Latin, Middle Eastern

Keyword: birthday cake, cake, tres leches

Author: Dahlia Morched

Ingredients

For the cake

• 6 large eggs separated
• 1.5 cups sugar granulated
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamom ground
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk

For the milks

• 1 12 oz can evaporated milk 354 ml
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk 396 g
• 2 cups heavy cream aka whipping cream
• 1 tbsp rose water

For the ashta topping

• 1.5 cups whole milk
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 5 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp rose water

Garnish

• chopped pistachios
• dried edible rose petals Available here.

Instructions

For the cake

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking sheet with high sides.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low and gradually add sugar with mixer running, beating until stiff peaks form.
  
  Make sure that mixer and attachment are thoroughly cleaned and no yolks have gotten into the whites, any fat or grease will prevent the eggs from stiffening.
• Add egg yolks one at a time, making sure to incorporate each one thoroughly. Add vanilla.
• In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, alternating with whole milk, beginning and ending with flour. Do this quickly so that batter does not lose its volume.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and place in oven.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

For the milks

• Whisk together the three milks and rose water until well combined.
• Poke holes all over the cake. Pour one half of the milk mixture all over the cake. Allow it some time to absorb the milks, then pour over the remaining milk and let cool.

For the ashta

• In a small saucepan combine milk, cream, corn starch and sugar and begin heating over medium heat while whisking. Make sure there are no clumps before the mixture starts getting hot.
• Bring to a boil for about a minute while whisking occasionally. The mixture should have a pudding-like consistency at this point. Turn off heat, add rose water.
• Let cool slightly for a minute or two, then pour the mixture over the cake. It should be loose and spread easily. Cover the cake smoothly then let cake sit until cooled.
• Once at room temperature, move the cake to the fridge. Leave it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours to let the ashta set, then cover and leave for two nights in the fridge, or at least for one night.

Serving

• Garnish with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals and serve.

Notes

This cake is best prepared TWO days in advance, and should be prepared no less than a day ahead and left to rest overnight in the fridge. 

The ashta topping can be made and used right after the cake has soaked the milks, or at a later time, but the ashta must be poured on while warm and must have a few hours in the fridge to set. 

You can also top the cake with fresh whipped cream instead of the ashta. 

Dried rose petals can be found here. 

The cake recipe is adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s Tres Leches.