three times the fun … Coconut Tres Leches Ice Cream

Today is Cinqo de Mayo, the day that commenmorates the victory of a Mexican battalion against French military forces in 1862 near the city of Puebla. It’s not a national holiday in Mexico, however, large celebrations do take place in some areas of the country, primarily in the state of Puebla. Growing up in Arizona, it was always bigger than Mexican Independence Day in September and we always celebrated it with margaritas and enchiladas. Classy. This year, rather than enchiladas, I’ve been on an ice cream kick. Big time. Earlier in the week it was horchata with strawberries, today it’s a take on one of the best cakes ever: Tres Leches.

Tres Leches cake contains – shocker! – three type of milk that drench and slowly soak into a vanilla sponge cake resulting in a wonderful, gooey mess. It’s delightful. The three milks are usually sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream though you might see regular whole milk in the mix. The cake is mainly associated with Latin American cultures, the popularity likely driven by a recipe on the Nestle condensed milk can widely distrubted in Central and South America in the 1940’s. Dig around on the internet and you’ll find a million versions of this treat but my ideal was a piece I had years ago.

It was unusual given that it was a layer cake iced with whipped cream. Most cakes of this variety are a single layer, baked and served in a Pyrex dish designed to contain the three milks from oozing all over the place. To my mind, a tres leches layer cake of this type shouldn’t work but I swear it did. It was wonderful. The only problem is I’m not exactly sure where I had this miraculous slice. A lot of cakes have passed through my life in the last decade and I’ll be damned if I can remember where that one was. Isn’t that a pisser? I’m sure it’ll come to me suddenly in the middle of the night and I’ll wake up shouting some random restaurant name into the darkness. Good times.

Of course with Cinqo de Mayo happening, it’s that cake that came to mind. Only I didn’t have the time, the inclination or the desire to make a cake. I had ice cream on the brain so a tres leches ice cream it was destined to be. But first I needed my three milks: cream and sweetened condensed of course but using whole or evaporated milk for the third would get me … vanilla ice cream. Big whoop de do. So I decided to use sweetened condensed, cream and … coconut milk!  Let’s put a spin on this sucker with Coconut Tres Leches. It sounded great to me. Now that I think about it, that combination would make a nice cake too …

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: THREE MILKS, THREE TIMES THE FUN. This makes a surprisingly flavorful ice cream with a great texture – creamy but with a bit of a chew and the toasted coconut adds a little crunch. I love texture in an ice cream. Let me just tell you that this makes a downright stunning sundae with hot fudge sauce. Holy crap. Mounds Bar in a bowl. Amazing. In general, I do not think there is enough coconut in our dessert lives. Coconut is fantastic and if you think otherwise, well shush.

Other Cinqo de Mayo recipes: Chocolate Churros, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Mexican Chocolate Poundcake, Mexican Chocolate Cookies, Mexican Chocolate Pudding Pops, Mexican Corn Elote Salad, Machaca – Mexican Shredded Beef, Posole Verde
Seven years ago: Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Quiche
Six years ago: Kentucky Derby Tarts, Peterson Garden Project – the start
Five years ago: Homemade Crème Eggs
Four years ago: Buttermilk Biscuits
Three years ago: Queso Fundito
Two years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
Last year: Flourless Chocolate Cookies

COCONUT TRES LECHES ICE CREAM
makes 1 quart

1 ½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup coconut milk
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons coconut extract
½ cup toasted sweetened coconut

1. Combine the cream and coconut milk in 2-quart saucepan.
2. Over medium-low heat, cook the mixture 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together then slowly whisk in ½ cup of the hot cream mixture. This is called “tempering the eggs”, slowly bringing up the temperature of the eggs so they won’t curdle in the hot cream.
4. Slowly pour the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly.
5. Over low heat stirring constantly, cook the mixture 2-3 minutes or until it reaches 160°F and is thick enough to coat back of metal spoon. (Do not boil.)
6. Remove from heat and stir in sweetened condensed milk and coconut extract.
7. Pour into a bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight until well chilled.
8. Freeze in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Add the toasted coconut and churn for just a minute until well blended (alternatively, turn the ice cream into a bowl and fold in the coconut by hand.)
10. Transfer to a freezer container and freeze at least 2 hours to harden.

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