This recipe is based off of a recipe from Pati Jinich on PBS. Hers is a more traditional tre leche cake with a “marble” of vanilla & chocolate. I thought I’d up it a notch by adding a 4th leche, dulce de leche. I make my own which you can find in my recipe for dulce de leche cinnamon rolls (here).

It really added a little extra to the cake and made it super delicious. Enjoy!

Marbled quattro leche cake

Cake:

• Unsalted butter to butter the pan
• 9 large eggs, room temp, separated
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp espresso powder

Sauce:

• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup dulce de leche sauce
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Topping:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• Mexican-style chocolate (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 with the rack in the middle. Butter a 9×13″ backing pan and line it with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whiteson medium-high until they are soft peaks. Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the sugar. Beat until they have stiff peaks.

In another bowl beat the egg yolks until fluffy & pale. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Gently fold the yolks into the whites being care not to deflate them. Fold in the flour, gently, 1/4 cup at a time until mixed well (no obvious flour pockets).

Combine the hot water, espresso powder, & cocoa. Separate the batter mixture in half, add the cocoa water to one (gently mix well) and pour the non-cocoa batter into the pan. Dollop the dulce de leche sauce over the batter. Pour the cocoa batter down the center. Use a knife or spoon and make a whirling design from side to side.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is lightly brown and feel spongy to the touch. Remove and let cool. Once cool invert onto a board or plate and remove the parchment paper. Invert back into the pan and punch it with a folk creating lots of holes for the sauce to go into.

Combine the 3 milks with the tbsp of vanilla. Pour 2/3 over the cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hour, over night is better. Before serving take the cake out and let it come up to room temp. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top.

In a stand mixer with the whisk, beat the heavy cream until it has soft peaks. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and them beat until is back to soft peaks. Spoon over the cake and grate the Mexican chocolate over the top if desired.