Buttermilk Tres Leches Cake

Made this cake on Sunday. It was edible, tasted fantastic. The cake sunk in the center, could it be because I used a glass 9x13? It was a trick to get the perimeter to soak in the liquid because it all just pooled in the sunken center. I also had about two cups of liquid left over. It seemed very thick, like it wouldn't soak in, it took a full two days for the cake to become completely saturated around the thicker perimeter. Not sure if I'll make this again.

The cornmeal made it texturally like cornbread which I didn’t care for.

What's up with the SALT description in the Recipe ... isn't Kosher Salt 'COARSE'? 1teaspoon coarse kosher salt, such as Morton (or use 1½ teaspoons kosher salt)

Question - is this cake a good candidate for freezing / serving later ? Thinking summer pot luck picnic take along

This cake is a family favorite but I found this recipe a real disappointment! Cooking time was way off and I had gobs of soak left. The Ina Garten recipe is foolproof and it's still my go to recipe.

Would grits or polenta be equivalent to coarse ground cornmeal?

I know it sort of goes against every recipe for tres leches out there, but has anyone made a successful version WITHOUT condensed milk? What substitute did you use? I love that buttermilk replaces evaporated in this recipe- I’d love to be able to replace the condensed as well with something - is condensed milk used simply for the sweetness and thickness, therefore enhancing the texture of the sauce and cake? Could coconut cream work instead with some added sugar syrup?

I had about two cups of soak left. Instead of serving it over the cake, I chilled it overnight and then put it into my Cuisinart ice cream maker. I churned it for 20 minutes. The ice cream was a little thicker than soft serve and completely smooth. I served a small scoop along side a piece of cake. Absolutely delicious. Also, the ice cream remained easy to scoop, even when it was frozen solid.

To add to the confusion, in my prior post, I stated that Diamond Crystal is saltier (than Morton) by volume. The opposite is true. Proves the point that specifying granulated table salt (what recipe authors used to refer to as simply "salt," obviates any confusion over differently textured kosher or other salts. Unless you're eating the actual piece of salt (as with a finishing salt) there is no discernible taste difference when using one salt or another.

Couldn’t find a coarse grind cornmeal so stuck with regular. Only loss was 2/3 c. of heavy cream because I didn’t look at ingredients list carefully enough and only brought home a pint. Used disposable foil pan 9x13 with good spraying of Baker’s Joy. The pan came with a plastic lid which obviated need for tented foil. Not as sweet as some tres leches. Texture good. Cinnamon perfect. Did look like someone marched over it with cleats, but work colleagues happy with results.

I didn't have a 9x13 cake pan, so used a 9" layer pan and poured the remaining batter into large bake-safe ramekins, and adjusted cooking time accordingly. I found the longer the soak the better the cake. After 48 hours, the cake tasted just right - that cornmeal makes it unlikely to get soggy, so I wouldn't worry about over soaking or using too much milk mixture. Spooning the extra milk mix over each slice for serving adds even more. A big hit with my family.

Can you use a hand mixer? I don't own a stand mixer.