Tres Leches Ice Cream

By stancec44

We found the cake and base flavors were spot on, but became a bit muted once frozen. So, a nice drizzle of dulce de leche on top of each served portion rounded things out nicely.

You’ll need an ice cream maker.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, separated in whites and yolks, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the ice cream
• One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
• One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1-1/2 cups half-and-half
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Extra Dulce de Leche

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking oil spray or baker’s spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and lightly butter the parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

Combine the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer; beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes until pale and creamy. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Add the milk and vanilla extract; beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute more. Clean and dry the beaters, if using.

Beat the egg whites in a separate clean mixing bowl (balloon-whisk attachment) on low speed until foamy, then continue to beat, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the egg whites hold soft peaks when the beaters are lifted, 2 to 3 minutes. Continue to beat on high speed while gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar; stop when the egg whites hold stiff peaks and before they being to look dry and lumpy.

Whisk one-third of the flour mixture into the yolk mixture until thoroughly combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in onethird of the egg whites. Alternate folding in the remaining flour mixture and the remaining egg whites in a total of four additions. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake (middle rack) for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment paper and allow to cool to room temperature. Cut the cake into 1-inch cubes and freeze on a sheet pan until ready to use. (If you’d prefer the cake cubes to have a bit of crunch in the ice cream, before freezing, toast them on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 6 minutes, until golden brown.)

For the ice cream:

Whisk the canned milks, half-and-half, vanilla extract and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Freeze and churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Once the ice cream has finished churning, mix in the frozen cake pieces. For a soft consistency, serve the ice cream right away; for a firmer consistency, transfer it to a container, cover and allow to harden in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours.