A traditional Tres Leches cake turned up a notch with a touch of lemon meringue. A light and fluffy cake soaked with a sweet milk mixture and topped with a flavorful citrus lemon curd and toasted meringue. All the elements of a Tres Leches and lemon meringue pie combined. This is a great recipe for lemon lovers who want to try something new besides making a lemon meringue pie for the 100th time. (Still delish though!) I love to try new things and play around with flavors. This lemon meringue Tres Leches does the trick and is lemon lover approved! Learn how to make this amazing cake down below!
How To Make Lemon Meringue Tres Leches:
First, we have to start off with making the lemon curd, which is super simple. Follow the recipe link here for my delicious homemade lemon curd.
Next, we have to make the cake. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), sift in the the dry ingredients. Whisk together and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the egg whites, milk, vanilla, and sour cream; set aside.
Beat butter into the dry mixture a tablespoon at a time until all the butter is incorporated. Then, beat in ½ of the wet mixture. (The batter should look dry and crumble at this point.) Add in the rest of the wet mixture and beat until combined.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tooth inserted comes out clean. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl whisk together the three milks. Once the cake is cooled, trim the sides and top and poke the cake with a fork.This allows for the milk to be soaked into the cake. Drizzle the cake with the milk mixture and have it sit in the fridge for a few hours (ideally overnight.)
Next spread prepared and chilled lemon curd over the cake.
Make Meringue Frosting:
In a heat-safe bowl, whisk the first four ingredients listed until fully combined.
Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with a few inches of water that is starting to simmer. Whisk mixture constantly over the heat for about 5 minutes or until egg whites are warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved.
Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer. Mix on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. About 5-7 minutes. Add vanilla and mix for 20 seconds to combine.
Spread onto cake and toasted with a kitchen torch if desired. But highly recommended.
And tada! Look at that beautiful slice of cake! Well worth all of the hard work and love that goes into this recipe. If you like this dessert, try out more of my lemon treats: lemon meringue cupcakes, lemon lavender cookies, and lemon raspberry white chocolate chip cookies.
Happy Baking! Love the Big Booty Baker
Lemon Meringue Tres Leches
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3⅔ cups (450g) cake flour
- 2¼ cups (480g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 8 egg whites
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 16 tbsp (2 sticks) (226g) unsalted butter at room temperature
For the Milk Mixture:
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 12 oz evaporated milk
For the Lemon Curd:
- 1 batch of my homemade lemon curd
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9X13 cake pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the egg whites, milk, vanilla, and sour cream; set aside.
- Beat butter into the dry mixture a tablespoon at a time until all the butter is incorporated. Then, beat in ½ of the wet mixture. (The batter should look dry and crumble at this point.) Add in the rest of the wet mixture and beat until combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tooth inserted comes out clean. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
For the Milk Mixture:
- In a large bowl whisk together the three milks. Once the cake is cooled, trim the sides and top and poke the cake with a fork. Drizzle the cake with the milk mixture and have it sit in the fridge for a few hours (ideally overnight.)
For the Meringue Frosting:
- In a heat-safe bowl, whisk the first four ingredients listed until fully combined.
- Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with a few inches of water that is starting to simmer. Whisk mixture constantly over the heat for about 5 minutes or until egg whites are warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer. Mix on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. About 5-7 minutes. Add vanilla and mix for 20 seconds to combine.
Assembly:
- Spread the lemon curd over the entire cake, then spread the meringue overtop of the lemon curd.
- Toasted meringue with a kitchen torch if desired, and enjoy!