Cookin' It Up In Texas: Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake or Three Milks Cake, a delectable mexican dessert, that will make love with your mouth. Ok, so maybe those weren't the best words to use, but this will give you a really good feeling when you eat it! No pun intended! This is my husbands all time favorite dessert. We make this several times a year and for every birthday he has!

This recipe is inspired by a FoodandWine.com recipe it can be found here, Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients;

For the cake;

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3 Large Eggs, room temperature
1 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Whole Milk

For Three Milk Mix;

1/ 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 12 Ounce Can Evaporated Milk
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 14 Ounce Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Prepare cake;

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl for a stand mixer add eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Fit mixer with paddle attachment and beat on medium high for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.

While the egg mixture is mixing, prepare a 13x9 glass dish by buttering it. Prepare the dry mixture for cake, in a medium bowl add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix well. Set aside.

After 10 minutes turn off your stand mixer and add 1/2 the flour mixture to bowl. Turn mixer to low and incorporate flour mix. Without turning off mixer gradually add milk to bowl. Turn mixer off and mix in remaining flour mixture just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 25- 30 minutes. Just until middle is set and cake is lightly browned on top. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes, i recommend an hour.

While cake is cooling prepare the tres leches mix.

In a heatproof bowl, i use a pyrex 8 cup measuring bowl. Combine condensed milk, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and ground clove. Stir well.

In a medium pot add in heavy cream, evaporated milk, and cinnamon stick. Using a whisk stir mixture over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Let steep for 10 minutes.

Using a fine mesh strainer strain the steeped cream mixture into condensed milk mixture. Let cool for 20 minutes.

Once cake has cooled, using a fork poke holes all over cooled cake. I like to start at one corner and work my way diagonally across cake and then repeat process on the opposite end. If cake sticks to fork while poking holes, wipe with a damp paper towel and continue.

Slowly pour the tres leches mix over entire cake. Cover tightly over top of dish with plastic wrap, making sure plastic doesn't touch cake. Refrigerate overnight.

Serve with whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries.

For whip cream, take beaters of a hand mixer and medium size bowl and chill in the freezer for at least an hour. To your chilled bowl add 1 cup of heavy cream and beat on high with hand mixer until stiff peaks form, add sugar to taste.