Saffron and honey tres leches
Serves: 12-15
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Saffron and honey tres leches
Tres leches is a Latin American sponge cake soaked in three types of milk – evaporated, condensed and whole. We’ve infused the sponge with cinnamon, the milk with saffron and the whipped cream with honey for a golden twist on the classic cake
Serves: 12-15
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving (1 of 12))
Calories
485Kcal
Fat
24gr
Saturates
14gr
Carbs
56gr
Sugars
45gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
11gr
Salt
0.6gr
Spencer Lengsfield
Our Senior Food Producer Spencer was born in Los Angeles, so has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean but is also heavily influenced by her family’s Louisiana heritage. She loves spice, bright flavours, and fusion food, and she has a soft spot for a chocolate chip cookie.
See more of Spencer Lengsfield’s recipes
Spencer Lengsfield
Our Senior Food Producer Spencer was born in Los Angeles, so has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean but is also heavily influenced by her family’s Louisiana heritage. She loves spice, bright flavours, and fusion food, and she has a soft spot for a chocolate chip cookie.
See more of Spencer Lengsfield’s recipes
Ingredients
For the sponge
- unsalted butter, to grease
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 170g plain flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 eggs, separated
- 200g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 80ml whole milk
For the milk mixture
- 2 big pinches saffron
- 300ml whole milk
- 1 x 410g tin evaporated milk
- 1 x 397g tin condensed milk
For the whipped cream
- 4 tbsp runny honey
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 300ml double cream
- 2 tbsp pistachios, finely chopped
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 195°C, fan 175°C, gas 5. Grease a 33cm x 25cm baking dish with butter. In a large bowl, mix together the cinnamon, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and 150g of the sugar. Beat with an electric hand whisk until light and creamy, around 1 minute, then add the vanilla and milk and fold in with a wooden spoon.
- In another large bowl, beat the egg whites on a high speed until they reach soft peaks, then add the remaining 50g sugar and beat until it reaches stiff peaks. Add the yolk mix to the dry ingredients and gently mix before folding through the beaten egg whites, being careful not to lose any air. Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes or until light brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.
- While the cake cools, make the milk mixture. Crumble the saffron threads into a saucepan along with the milk, and slowly warm over a low heat until the milk turns orange, around 10 minutes. Once the saffron has ‘bloomed’ in the milk, add the evaporated and condensed milks, and whisk together. Prick the cooled cake all over with a fork, then slowly pour over the milk mixture. Leave to soak in the fridge – this will take a few hours but is best left overnight.
- For the whipped cream topping, combine the honey, vanilla and double cream in a large bowl. Whip together using an electric hand whisk, until it reaches soft peaks. Pile onto the soaked cake and top with the pistachios to serve.
Cook's tip
Whizz the saffron and milks in a blender after infusing to get a more intense colour and flavour.
