Should I booze up tres leches cake, and how?

July 3, 2017 8:38 AM

I think I want to booze up this coconut tres leches cake for a 4th of July party tomorrow. Two questions: 1) is this a thing people generally like? and 2) how do I do it best?

1. Will people like it?

I'm actually not a big fan of eating my alcohol but my understanding is that others actually like it and I'd like to make people happy. Am I right in thinking boozey cake might be welcomed? Is that a thing that people like?

I'm feeling a little more anxious than normal about it just because I don't know any attendees other than the host so I'm totally guessing about preferences. It's definitely a party where alcohol will be served and all that, and all childless twentysomethings, so I don't expect it to be a problem...just want to make sure it's actually likely to be enjoyed.

(I'll definitely be dividing it into two pans and only boozing up one of 'em so people like me or non-drinkers will be fine. Plus I'll be sure to label clearly.)

2. If so, how?

There is both a soaking liquid and a whipped cream topping involved in the recipe, so I could spike one or both. Is both too much? What ratios are good? I'm seeing recommendations around 1 T of liquor per C of cream when whipping...would I want to do similar ratios for the soaking liquid, or maybe a little less allowing for the fact that there's less air involved?

Booze-wise, I'm not quite sure what to use. Probably rum, right? I have Gosling's black rum and Bacardi white rum already, so I could use one or both of those. I also have triple sec, which might (?) compliment the lime in the whipped cream...idk, I've never used it outside of margaritas. I also have some other basics (vodka, wine, gin, whisky, even beer) but I can't imagine they'd lend themselves as well to this recipe.

Help me, hivemind! You're my only hope! TIA!

posted by R a c h e l to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

RumChata. It's horchata with rum. Would go great in the whipped cream or in the leches.
posted by kindall at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

Personally, I'm not sure this is a desert that would be improved with booze.
posted by slkinsey at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2017 [3 favorites]

I made a tres leches cake using some coconut cream, a little lime and tequila as a glaze over the top of the regular cake. It was very popular!
posted by Cloudberry Sky at 8:47 AM on July 3, 2017 [3 favorites]

Just speaking for myself, I don't look to alcohol in desserts for the salubrious effects of the booze, since usually you're ingesting much smaller amounts than you would by just drinking - but I do enjoy it when it adds an element to the flavors. Have you made this cake before? If you have and it went well, and you think adding booze would improve some element of it, I'd proceed, but if you haven't made it before I might steer clear.

If you do go forward, I'd add a spiced rum or something like the rumchata (something with other flavors) to the whipped topping, and would probably leave the soaking liquid alone. I'd be worried that the alcohol would curdle the milk in the soaking liquid, or impart a really harsh note to cake itself. But adding something to the whipped topping seems low-stakes. Definitely skip the triple sec, which I worry would taste too artificial.

Good luck and have fun at the party!
posted by superfluousm at 9:31 AM on July 3, 2017 [4 favorites]

Tres leches cake shares a lot of food DNA with Italian rum cake; both squishy delicious messes full of whipped cream. As such I think that rum would make perfect sense. There are a bunch of widely-varying recipes online, but you generally brush the rum (or rum flavored syrup) the over the cake first. I think doing that, then pouring over a little less of the creamy soaking liquid, would be really dangerous to have in the same room as me.

I will second that I wouldn't do this if your goal is to put in enough booze to get people drunk. Italian rum cake has enough liquid to make the cake completely wet and has a small enough amount of alcohol in it that kids eat it, and it (and tres leches) is rich enough that nobody's probably getting more than a teaspoon of rum.
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:43 AM on July 3, 2017

If you do add alcohol, make sure you let people know - make a little label or something. Not everyone is able to have alcohol, or might not be able to have it for health/religious reasons. I can't drink, and I've been caught out by this a couple of times and have ended up having to spit out my mouthful of what would otherwise be a delicious dessert, but for the booze in it.
posted by essexjan at 9:52 AM on July 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Sorry, yeah, I should have clarified (re that "eating my alcohol" comment) that I know that most boozy desserts are only minimally alcoholic. I'm definitely trying to keep it tasty first and foremost - just thought additional rum or something might make an interesting variation, and if there was a little alcohol involved that'd be a nice cherry on top. (And yes, if there's any alcohol involved at all I will make ensure that it is very clearly labeled...no worries there.)

I'm still weighing my options, so I haven't decided - I really appreciate all the ideas/input and I definitely welcome any other thoughts :).
posted by R a c h e l at 10:08 AM on July 3, 2017

I have a book called Booze Cakes which includes a Tres Leches recipe, so that might give you a good starting place to compare with your normal recipe and see what they substituted.
posted by aimedwander at 10:09 AM on July 3, 2017

You asked whether people will like it, but there's no way to know for sure. I don't like booze or coffee in desserts, but lots of people do, and it's ok if I don't like everything at a party. One thing to think about though. If you make it with booze, some people won't try it. If you make it without, people probably won't be saying, I'd really like this if it had booze in it. Just my opinion, of course.
posted by FencingGal at 10:51 AM on July 3, 2017 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Update: thanks in large part to FencingGal's advice, I ended up skipping the alcohol. The cake was delicious, but probably also would have been tasty with a little rum brushed on or mixed into the whipped cream and I'll probably end up trying that in the future!

Thanks for all the advice!
posted by R a c h e l at 8:33 AM on July 5, 2017