Tres Leches Cake

When I decided to start a baking blog, my intention was to have an online diary where I could blog about my love for baking, and cooking in general. It also will be a learning experience for me since I wanted to learn other techniques and try out new recipes that I see on other's blogs. One of the recipes I've always wanted to try was a Tres Leches cake or pastel as we say in Spanish. I've never tasted one and it certainly sounded delicious. I mean, you pour sweetened condensed milk over it along with two other milks. I could sit down with a spoon and totally finish a can of condensed milk, that's how good it is. 

So, having said that, yesterday while I was home taking care of my sick daughter, I decided to make a Tres Leches cake. OMG, que delicia!!! It tasted amazing and looks even better. I was so happy, I was clapping and laughing at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking. I garnished it with whipped cream and maraschino cherries. I think next time I make it, I'll try using meringue frosting and see how that might taste, though I suspect just as good if not better. I'll post more pics tomorrow but for now, I'll leave you with one pic and the recipe. Btw, I think this would make a great Christmas or New Year's Eve cake!

Tres Leches Cake

Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour

Cake Ingredients:
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 5 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Sugar, Divided
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ⅓ cups Milk
• 1 can evaporated Milk
• 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
• ¼ cups Heavy Cream

For the Icing:
• 2 cups heavy cream, for whipping
• 5 Tablespoons Sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs into two separate bowls.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool. I have a very hot Wolf oven so my baking times differ. Keep an eye on your cake. When it starts to brown, its ready.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 2 cups heavy cream with 5 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. I also added 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.