Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tres Leches Cake


This is the three-milk cake, which actually has four types of milk. This cake is very sweet, so slice it small to serve 24.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup white sugar--you could probably get away with half this amount
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add egg yolks and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended.
Whisk (by machine) the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into the batter, and then mix just until blended.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Let cake cool and then pierce cake several times with a fork.
Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake. It will look like you have too much milk, but let it soak in and then pour the rest on. Eventually, almost all the milk soaks into the cake.
Whip whipping cream, the remaining 1 (or half) cup of the sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Serve cold and be sure to keep cake refrigerated.
I sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Fresh peaches, strawberries, or bananas might also be good. Really, though, the cake is great on its own. Enjoy!