This no-bake tres leches cake layers lady fingers with a three-milk custard infused with cardamom and saffron, then tops with whipped cream and crushed pistachios. It requires no oven and only 2–3 hours of chilling before serving.
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Soak a generous pinch of saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot milk. Let it steep through for 30 minutes. If you don’t have saffron you can skip this step.
Combine ⅓ cup heavy cream, 1 ¼ cup evaporated milk and ¾ to 1 cup sweetened condensed milk. Add the saffron milk and crushed cardamom. Start with ¾th cup of condensed milk, taste and add more to your preference. Mix it well.
To a 8 by 8 inch pan arrange one layer of lady fingers ( about 12). Slowly pour some of the milk on each of the lady fingers. After 10 minutes pour some more milk evenly.
Sprinkle some crushed pistachios and arrange another layer of lady fingers.
Slowly pour some of the milk on each of the lady fingers ( don’t forget the edges) and let it rest on the counter top for 15 minutes. At this point save about ¾th cup of the sweetened milk to pour after sometime.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. After 3 hours, pour rest of the milk or save some to pour while serving.
To a medium bowl add 1 cup of whipping cream, 2 teaspoons powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whip ( for 5-6 minutes) till stiff and spreadable.
Spread the whipped cream on the lady fingers and smoothen the top. Sprinkle crushed pistachios and arrange few raspberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the cake 10 minutes before serving. Slice and enjoy.
Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Do not freeze (cream texture will break). Assemble whipped cream topping no more than 12 hours ahead to avoid weeping.
Yes. Saffron is optional and only steeps for flavor. Skip step 1 entirely and omit the saffron milk in step 2—the cake will still taste excellent with cardamom as the main spice.
Saffron steeps for 30 minutes, then assembly takes about 15 minutes. After a 2–3 hour refrigeration and overnight rest after topping, total time is 24–26 hours, but active prep is under one hour.
Yes, but homemade whipped cream with powdered sugar and vanilla (step 7) has better texture and flavor control. Store-bought will still work if you're short on time.
Pour slowly and evenly across all edges (step 5 note), and wait 10 minutes between pours (step 3). Reserve ¾ cup of milk to add after 3 hours of chilling (step 6) to even out absorption.
Yes, double all ingredients and use a 9×13 inch pan, or halve and use an 8×4 inch loaf pan. Adjust milk absorption time by monitoring after each chill period.
