Step Your Pancake Game All The Way Up And Make Them Tres Leches Style

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If you're looking to upgrade your basic buttermilk pancake recipe, why not give them a dessert-friendly twist inspired by one of your favorite Mexican desserts? Tres leches cake (or three milks cake) is a soft sponge cake drenched in a rich and creamy milk-based sauce. This signature topping usually consists of whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Fortunately, the breakfast version of this authentic Mexican dessert is easy to prepare thanks to homemade or boxed pancake mix. All you need to do is make a batch of pancakes, prepare the signature tres leches sauce, and dress your pancakes just right at mealtime.

For starters, aim to keep your freshly-cooked pancakes warm between batches by placing them on a baking sheet in your oven set to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. In the meantime, combine your three milks. While evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk are necessary additions, feel free to swap out whole milk for heavy cream for a richer flavor and texture. You can also give your milk mixture a thicker consistency by reducing it over your stove ahead of time.

When your pancakes are ready to serve, poke holes into each one with a fork, stack them accordingly, and pour over your three-milk topping. The creamy sauce will drip down through the open holes of each pancake, giving them a moist consistency and sweet, vanilla-kissed taste.

Believe it or not, there are other tasty ways to craft your own version of tres leches pancakes at home. To give this impressive breakfast a more refined taste, feel free to adjust your pancake better with more ingredients. For example, enhance your batter with extra vanilla extract, a touch of almond extract, or warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. To give your hot cakes a sweeter aftertaste, simply add sugar to your batter or prepare a whole new version with your favorite box of white cake mix instead of flour and baking powder. For a foolproof pancake batter, all you need to do is combine powdered cake mix with 2 eggs and 1 cup of whole milk.

Additionally, since these Mexican pancakes are the luxurious breakfast you need to shake up your weekend, use a variety of sweet-tasting toppings that surpass the myriad of milk options in traditional tres leches sauce. For example, top your pancakes with an extra drizzle of sweetened condensed milk plus a few scoops of homemade, foolproof whipped cream. Or, add a drizzle of cajeta sauce, which is a pourable Mexican caramel sauce usually made with goat's milk. You can easily buy a variety like Las Sevillanas Dulce de Leche directly from Amazon.

Keep in mind, thanks to the milky sweet flavor of tres leches pancakes, you can use whichever toppings you most prefer. Other tasty last minute additions include cinnamon sugar, sliced nuts, or a few maraschino cherries for a much-welcomed pop of color.