Ingredients
Sponge
- 5large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 180 gcaster sugar
- 180 gplain flour
- 1.5 tspbaking powder
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1 pinchfine salt
Three milks
- 300 mlwhole milk
- 250 mlevaporated milk
- 200 mlsweetened condensed milk
- 150 mldouble cream
Caramel top
- 200 gcaster sugar
- 60 mlwater
- 200 mldouble cream, warmed
- 20 gunsalted butter
- 1 pinchfine salt
Directions
- Whisk the egg whites with the salt to soft peaks, then rain in half the sugar and whisk to a firm, glossy meringue that holds a peak without drooping.
- Beat the yolks with the remaining sugar and vanilla for 4 minutes until thick and pale, then fold them into the whites in three additions with a large spoon.
- Sift the flour and baking powder over the top and fold through in three goes, cutting and turning rather than stirring, so the batter stays aerated.
- Pour into a lined 30 by 22 cm tray and bake at 170°C (350°F) fan for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden, springy in the centre and shrinking slightly from the sides.
- Cool the sponge completely in the tray, then prick it all over with a skewer, right down to the base, at intervals of about 2 cm.
- Whisk the three milks with the cream and pour slowly over the cold sponge in four passes, letting each soak in before the next. It will take all of it. Chill at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.
- For the caramel, cook the sugar and water without stirring to a deep amber, about 8 minutes, then take it off the heat and pour in the warm cream in stages, standing back as it spits violently. Whisk in the butter and salt and cool to lukewarm.
- Pour the caramel over the chilled cake in an even layer, chill 2 hours more to set, and cut into squares with a hot knife wiped between cuts.
Technique
- The sponge must be cold, dry and slightly overbaked rather than moist. A soft, buttery cake dissolves into sludge when the milks go in; this is a lean whisked sponge whose job is to act as a sponge.
- Pour the milk mixture in stages. All at once it pools at the edges, the middle stays dry and the cake floats.
- Trileçe reached Albania through Turkey rather than directly from Latin America, and the caramel lid, rather than whipped cream, is what marks the Albanian and Turkish version of tres leches.
Substitutions
- No evaporated milk: reduce 400 ml whole milk by half over low heat and cool it, which gives a similar concentration and cooked note.
- The caramel can be replaced by a dulce de leche loosened with 2 tablespoons of cream, spread cold.
Variations
- A chocolate trileçe adds 30 g of cocoa to the sponge and a dark chocolate ganache instead of caramel.
- Some Tirana pastry shops finish it with a thin layer of whipped cream under the caramel.
History
Three-milks sponge soaked in milk, cream and condensed milk under caramel, adopted from Turkish cafés in recent decades.
Frequently asked questions
What is Trileçe?
Trileçe is a dessert from Albania: three-milk sponge with caramel top, wildly popular. Three-milks sponge soaked in milk, cream and condensed milk under caramel, adopted from Turkish cafés in recent decades.
How long does Trileçe take to make?
Trileçe takes 30 min of preparation and 35 min plus 8 hr soaking of cooking. The recipe makes 1 tray, 15 squares. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Trileçe?
Yes, within limits. No evaporated milk: reduce 400 ml whole milk by half over low heat and cool it, which gives a similar concentration and cooked note. The caramel can be replaced by a dulce de leche loosened with 2 tablespoons of cream, spread cold.
What is the most important thing to get right in Trileçe?
Sift the flour and baking powder over the top and fold through in three goes, cutting and turning rather than stirring, so the batter stays aerated.
