Nikki Evangelista’s Cornbread Tres Leches

Nutty, crumbly, and mildly sweet, cornbread is a Southern staple typically served as a side to accompany smoky barbecue or rich Southern stews. The dense, crumbly texture of cornbread makes it a great vehicle to soak up sauces and juices. But imagine cornbread as the star of the show in a sweet and citrusy dessert.

This humble Southern dish gets a Mexican/Filipino twist in the form of tres leches cake, a popular Mexican sponge cake soaked in a mixture of three different milks and topped with whipped cream. I’ve made many different versions of tres leches cake over the years, usually gifted to friends and family for celebrations. It’s become my go-to cake to make because of its simplicity and versatility in flavors. This cake recipe brings both my Filipino and Southern backgrounds together—a classic cornbread as the cake base, a mixture of condensed milk, coconut milk, and oat milk for the cake to soak in overnight, salted honey whipped cream, and calamansi (Filipino citrus) curd for a bright and tangy bite. 

What I love about this recipe is that you can use your favorite cornbread recipe for the cake. Just be sure to make adjustments to the sugar level of the milk mixture, depending on how sweet your cornbread is. My go-to cornbread recipe is Rodney Scott’s cornbread, which is slightly sweet and cakey—perfect for this dessert.

Meet Rodney Scott

Rodney Scott is an acclaimed pitmaster who opened Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston in 2017, with several additional locations launching since then. In 2018, Scott was named Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. He says his famous cornbread uses his Granny’s recipe.

Cornbread Tres Leches Recipe

Yield: 9 slices

Ingredients

Cornbread (adapted from Rodney Scott’s recipe)

• 2 cups (250 g) fine-ground cornmeal
• 1.5 cups (245 g) all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup (75 g) white sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups (750 g) whole buttermilk
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp softened unsalted butter, 1 tsp flour to coat the pan

Milk Soak

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 ¼ cups (300 g) oat milk
• 1 ¼ cups (300 g) coconut milk

Calamansi Curd

• ½ cup calamansi juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• zest of 1 whole lemon
• zest of 1 whole lime
• ⅓ cup sugar 
• 3 large eggs
• 4 large egg yolks
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and softened

Salted Honey Whipped Cream

• 1 2/3 cup (400 g) heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp (40 g) honey
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For Serving

• ¾ cup fresh blueberries
• 2–3 Tbsp toasted coconut flakes

Instructions

Cornbread 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 10×10-inch or 9×1-inch baking dish with softened butter and 1 tsp flour.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients using a whisk. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then mix in the buttermilk and melted butter until well blended.
3. Slowly whisk the buttermilk mixture into the dry mixture. Mix until smooth; do not overmix.
4. Add the cornbread batter into the prepared baking dish (fill about 2/3s of the dish, leaving room for the cornbread to rise) and smooth out the top. Bake for about 25 minutes. Let it cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Milk Soak

1. While the cornbread is baking, combine the condensed milk, oat milk, and coconut milk in a large pitcher. Mix it well and make sure there are no clumps of condensed milk left at the bottom of the pitcher. 
2. Set the milk mixture in the refrigerator while the cornbread is cooling.

Calamansi Curd

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the lemon and lime zest. Use your fingers to rub them together and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Add the calamansi and lemon juices in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Take the mixture off the heat once it starts to simmer.
3. Add the eggs, egg yolks, and salt to the sugar zest mixture. Whisk until combined.
4. Slowly pour the heated calamansi juice, a little at a time, into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking continuously until combined. Add this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, making sure to whisk frequently. Once the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes, remove from heat and whisk in the cubed and softened butter until smooth.
5. Place the saucepan in an ice bath and whisk the curd frequently until it cools down.
6. Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Salted Honey Whipped Cream

1. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add in the honey, salt, and vanilla extract and whisk until you get firm peaks.
2. Store whipped cream in piping bags in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assembly

1. Remove the cooled cornbread from the baking dish and put it back in with the bottom side up. Using a fork, gently poke the top of the cornbread all the way through. Make sure to poke all the way down in order for the milk to soak through properly.
2. Add the milk soak mixture in batches all over the top of the cornbread, slowly pouring and letting it soak after every batch.
3. Cover the soaked cake and refrigerate overnight to soak completely.
4. Assemble the cake by piping the salted honey whipped cream over the top of the soaked cake. Add dollops of calamansi curd (the more, the better) and top with some blueberries and coconut flakes for garnish.