Turkish Caramel Milk Cake (Trileçe)

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• vanilla essence (A dash)
• 0.5 cup sugar (For the sponge cake)
• salt (A pinch)
• 1 cup flour
• 1.5 cup milk (For the milk mixture)
• 0.5 cup sweetened condensed milk (For the milk mixture)
• 0.25 cup heavy cream (For the milk mixture)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (Whip; reserve about 4 tbsp for decoration)
• 0.75 cup sugar (For the caramel sauce)
• 0.75 cup heavy cream (The source writes “3/4tb cup”; use room-temperature cream for the caramel sauce)
• 2 tbsp butter (Softened)

Steps

1. 1

   Place the eggs, vanilla essence, 1/2 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for about 7–8 minutes, until airy and foamy. Do not overbeat; the source notes that an overly beaten mixture can produce a harder cake that does not absorb the milk properly.

2. 2

   Add the flour and carefully mix it into the egg mixture. Mix gently and avoid deflating the foamy consistency.

3. 3

   Transfer the batter to a baking dish and bake at 350°F until baked through, about 25 minutes.

4. 4

   Let the cake cool completely. Remove any parchment paper, then place the cake back in the baking dish.

5. 5

   Mix the milk, condensed milk, and 1/4 cup heavy cream together well to make the milk mixture.

6. 6

   Once the cake is completely cool, poke holes all over the cake with a fork.

7. 7

   Pour the milk mixture over the cake so it can soak into the holes.

8. 8

   Whip the heavy whipping cream. Reserve about 4 tablespoons for decorating later.

9. 9

   Spread the remaining whipped cream evenly over the soaked cake.

10. 10

    Place the sugar for the caramel sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Let it caramelize.

11. 11

    Add the room-temperature heavy cream to the caramelized sugar and stir until well combined. The caramel may harden initially; continue cooking and stirring until it becomes creamy in consistency.

12. 12

    Add the softened butter and stir it into the caramel sauce.

13. 13

    Let the caramel sauce cool down.

14. 14

    Pour the cooled caramel mixture over the whipped-cream layer and spread it evenly across the top.

15. 15

    Decorate the cake with the reserved whipped cream as shown in the video, then serve and enjoy.

Notes

The source does not specify the baking-dish size, cooling duration, or a refrigeration/resting time after soaking. The caramel cream quantity is written ambiguously as “3/4tb cup” in the source; it is represented here as 3/4 cup with a note preserving the ambiguity.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cake
• Turkish-inspired
• European
• baked
• caramel
• milk-soaked
• vegetarian