A delicious Middle Eastern twist on the classic milk cake. This Laban & Honey Milk Cake hits all the refreshing and nostalgic notes and makes for the perfect summer dessert with a classic milk cake sponge made with eggs, sugar, and flour, and a three-milk mixture made with laban, honey, condensed milk, and evaporated milk.
So, you know how much I love milk cakes, right? You don’t? Well then…
So let me just be straight – milk cakes are ✨ELITE✨and I absolutely love them. Why, you ask? Here’s why.
- Milk cakes are literally the easiest dessert to make. The cake is made with 3 of the most basic pantry ingredients – eggs, sugar, and flour. That’s it. I mean, it’s sitting right at the bottom tier of “baking experience required”.
- You can make them in ANY flavor. All the flavor in a milk cake comes from the milk mixture. The “cake” in milk cake acts just like a sponge to absorb all that delicious flavor. You can flavor the three-milk mixture with anything you like – powders, spreads, syrups, spices, you name it, and make a milk cake of that flavor. You like cinnamon? Make cinnamon milk cake. You like eccentric South Asian or Middle Eastern flavors like Qahwa and Rooh Afza? Make a milk cake out of those. It’s SIMPLE. I cannot think of any other dessert that is so versatile and easy to adapt.
I’ve gone into the depths and origins of the Tres Leches or “Three-Milk” Cake in my previous milk cake recipes, but in case you haven’t tried those yet (👀 I’m judging you), here’s a quick recap. The Tres Leches Cake (translated into three milk cake) originates from Mexico. It’s a light and airy cake that is flavored with a milk mixture made with three kinds of milk – heavy cream or liquid whipping cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk. The whipping cream gives it a creamy texture, while the condensed and evaporated milk gives it sweetness and flavor.
Because it’s such a versatile dessert, I love experimenting with it and coming up with new flavors. This time, I wanted to create a milk cake flavor that would be a nod to my Middle Eastern upbringing. To date, Laban is one of the most loved drinks in the Middle East. Whether it’s sweet or salty, nothing quenches your thirst on a hot summer day like a cold glass of Laban. With this milk cake, I have turned that glass of sweet Laban flavored with honey into a dessert.
The Three Milk Mixture
As I mentioned earlier, traditionally, Tres leches, or three-milk cake is made with whipping cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk. However, to add the Laban flavor, I substituted the whipping cream with Laban. It works perfectly as Laban also has a thick and creamy texture similar to liquid whipping cream. Combined with the sweetness of the honey, condensed, and evaporated milk, the three-milk mixture complements the cake perfectly.
Pro tip: Add a big pinch of salt to bring out the flavors of the Laban and take it to the next level.
If you want to make your milk cake super moist (I’m sorry, I really am 😬) and make sure that the milk mixture is properly absorbed into the cake, do these two things –
- Poke as many holes as possible in the cake without destroying it and pour the milk mixture while the cake is still hot.
- Let the cake sit in the milk mixture overnight. This makes sure that the cake absorbs the liquid properly.
So, are you ready to turn your favorite glass of Laban into a dessert? Let’s get started!
PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are very unreliable and can give different measurements, so I would suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups, however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.
PPS: if you notice a * after any word, it means that there are additional tips about it after the recipe.
Laban & Honey Three Milk Cake
Equipment
- Hand whisk
- 6" cake pan
Ingredients
Three Milk Mixture
- 180 ml full-fat Laban, plain
- 20 gs honey, more or less as per taste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 280 ml condensed milk
- 100 ml evaporated milk
Cake Sponge
- 4 eggs, separated
- 70 gs white granulated sugar, separated in half
- 80 gs all-purpose flour
Laban Whipped Cream (For Topping)
- 100 ml whipping cream
- 20 gs honey
- 20 ml full-fat Laban, plain
Instructions
Three Milk Mixture
- In a bowl, warm the Laban, then add the honey and salt to it. Whisk the mixture until the honey is completely dissolved into the Laban.180 ml full-fat Laban, plain, 20 gs honey, more or less as per taste, 1/2 tsp salt
- Add the condensed milk, and evaporated milk into the Laban mixture and whisk until combined and set it aside.280 ml condensed milk, 100 ml evaporated milk
Cake Sponge
- Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Prepare your cake pan – grease with softened butter in all corners and dust with flour to avoid the cake from sticking to the pan while baking.
- Separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls, then add half of the sugar (35 g) in the egg yolk and the remaining half (35 g) in the egg whites.4 eggs, separated, 70 gs white granulated sugar, separated in half
- Whisk the egg yolk and sugar mixture on high speed until it becomes pale, fluffy, and creamy. Then, whisk the egg white and sugar mixture on high speed until it reaches stiff peaks*.
- In a separate bowl, measure the flour and keep it aside.80 gs all-purpose flour
- Now, you will fold the egg white mixture and the flour into the egg yolk mixture in 2 parts, alternating after each addition. Follow this order – add half of the egg white mix into the egg yolks and fold it with a silicone spatula gently until it’s well combined, then add half of the flour and fold it in until there are no streaks of flour visible, then add the remaining half of the egg white and fold it in, followed by the remaining half of the flour. Make sure you are taking your time and folding the ingredients in gently. You want to maintain the airy-ness of the egg whites so that your cake is light and fluffy and not dense. The egg white is the only raising agent in this cake, so make sure you don’t knock the air off at this point.
- Transfer the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center and the top is golden-brown.
- Once the cake is baked, take it out of the cake pan, poke holes in it using a fork and pour the prepared milk mixture on the cake while it’s still hot so that the milk can get properly absorbed into the cake. Keep adding the milk until the cake stops absorbing it, and let it chill in the fridge overnight. Make sure to retain some milk mixture for serving.
Laban Whipped Cream (For Topping)
- In a bowl, add the liquid whipping cream, laban, and honey, and whip on high speed until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
Notes
Storage:
While chilling, keep the cake covered properly to stop it from drying out. The cake can be stored in the fridge for 2 days.Tips & Tricks:
Stiff peaks*: This term is used to describe how whipped the egg whites should be. Stiff peaks refer to fully-whipped egg whites, where when you pick your whisk up from the whites, it creates stiff, stable peaksAnd that’s how you turn a glass of Laban into a dessert! I hope you are as excited as I am to try this recipe, it’s just so good! 🤩
If you give the Laban & Honey Milk Cake a try, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments. And of course, share it with me on Instagram!
Meanwhile, here are some more milk cake recipes for you to try:
And if you love fusion desserts like this one, here are a few you will definitely enjoy!
- Chocolate & Pistachio Baklava Mille-Feuille
- Kunafa Cheesecake
- Vimto Chocolate Mousse Tart
- Rooh Afza Mousse
Until next time!
