Chef Nini Nguyen's Tres Leches Cake Has A Sweet, Unexpected Coffee Twist

Among the delicious lineup of desserts everyone should try at least once, light and sweet tres leches cake ranks near the top of the list. Traditionally, freshly baked sponge cake is doused with a sweetened milk mixture, and it's often topped with a thick layer of homemade whipped cream. However, if you're a coffee lover, you may want to try a special variation of this classic dessert brought to you by one well-known, on-screen chef.

Sure enough, Food Network participant and recipe creator Nini Nguyen created her own culturally rich version of this classic dessert. More specifically, Nguyen infuses the base flavors of standard tres leches cake with instant coffee for a Vietnamese-inspired twist. Since Vietnamese coffee is made by combining a strong-tasting brew with a small amount of sweetened condensed milk, instant coffee paired with the creamy components of tres leches cake perfectly mimics the distinct flavor of this one-of-a-kind drink.

While Nguyen's recipe includes the same three classic milks that make up tres leches cake including sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk, she infuses both her cake batter and pour-over milk mixture with a small amount of instant coffee. The end result is a perfectly creamy spin on traditional tres leches cake. Though, beyond infusing this luscious dessert with powdered coffee, Nguyen adds in a few more ingredients to give this luscious dessert a proper, Vietnamese-inspired upgrade.

To prepare a well-crafted Vietnamese-inspired tres leches cake, chef Nini Nguyen incorporates both instant coffee powder and cocoa powder to her one-of-a-kind recipe. Sure enough, certain Vietnamese coffee beans such as robusta have a distinct cocoa flavor when brewed. Since coffee and chocolate are complementary ingredients, Nguyen adds cocoa powder to her cake batter which in turn, amplifies her recipe's underlying coffee flavor.

When it comes to topping this flavorful cake, Nguyen makes a sweet and salty whipped cream which is also commonly used to enhance Vietnamese coffee. To make your own, simply prepare basic but foolproof whipped cream – but include a decent pinch of salt when mixing. 

Speaking of recipe details, if you want a full breakdown of each ingredient, you can buy Nguyen's basic recipe for tres leches cake on her website. Better yet, in the description box under the recipe title, Nguyen offers yet another way to incorporate the distinct flavor of coffee to this milky treat. All you need to do is swap out the usual whole milk in your three-milk mixture with coffee concentrate. 

Alternatively, if you tend to brew your morning coffee on the stronger side, you can also try using a cooled cup of drip coffee. When you're finally ready to enjoy a slice, before digging in, feel free to top your coffee-flavored tres leches cake with a dusting of cocoa powder or chopped, chocolate-covered espresso beans.