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Lemon Meringue Tres Leches

Vanilla cake soaked in three milks, topped with a vibrant citrus lemon curd and a toasted meringue.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients Method

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

Method
 

For the Cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9X13 cake pan with parchment paper.
  2. 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.
  3. In a large bowl whisk together the egg whites, milk, vanilla, and sour cream; set aside.
  4. 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.
  5. 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:
  1. 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:
  1. In a heat-safe bowl, whisk the first four ingredients listed until fully combined.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:
  1. Spread the lemon curd over the entire cake, then spread the meringue overtop of the lemon curd.
  2. Toasted meringue with a kitchen torch if desired, and enjoy!