Tres Leches Cake, a Mexican favorite, is made with a mixture of 3 milks: heavy cream, evaporated and sweetened condensed milk. Thanks to Tiburcio for posting her recipe in the forum.
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Yield: 16 large pieces
Ingredients:
- Cake ingredients -
- 9 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 12 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 cups flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cream of tarter
- Three Milks -
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1- 5 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- Cream Icing Ingredients -
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Optional: sliced strawberries for decoration
Preparation:
For cake: Preheat oven to 350. Separate egg yolks and whites, keeping whites at room temp. In bowl of an electric mixer, cream sugar and butter together until pale yellow and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat until fluffy again, 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In a third bowl, mix milk and vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture (a fourth at a time) until all are combined. Beat until smooth after each addition. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks from and, using a large spatula, gently but thoroughly fold into flour and butter mixture. Grease bottom of a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan. Pour in batter and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool. (May also be baked in an 11.5 by 17.5 inch sheet pan for 20 minutes; this size rises very evenly, helpful for inexperienced cooks.
For Milks: Stir the milks together thoroughly; do not beat. Don't refrigerate canned milks before using.
Creamed Icing: Whip cream and sugar together until stiff. When cake is cool, slice or peel off the thin top crust. Ice sides first, creating a small lip on top onto catch milk mixture. Pour milk mixture evenly over top of cake (if necessary, poke holes in cake with a knife or toothpick to facilitate soaking; you will probably need only 3/4 of mixture). Finish icing top. Refrigerate. (if using an 11.5 x 17.5 inch pan, cut cake in half to make 2 equal pieces. Soak first layer, ice top if desired, and place second layer on top of it. Proceed as above. Serves 12.
Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo Celebration with this recipe for Tres Leche Cake.
