Tres Chic Tres Leches Cake

When I look at this picture, I'm torn by two desires: 1. my desire to smooth out the slightly messy whipped cream, and 2. my desire to attack that thing with a fork.

Our good friend Patricia recently came into town for my brother's wedding, which happened to coincide with her birthday.

To honor the occassion, I decided to try something I've never made before-- and, in fact, never tasted before: a tres leches cake.

"Tres leches" is Spanish for "three milks." A tres leches cake is a sponge cake that gets pierced with a fork...



...like so...

...and doused in three milks: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy whipping cream.

 

 

Okay, so this photo is shaky. You try tilting a 4-cup measure in one hand while taking a picture with the other.

Then you let the milked-up cake sit in the fridge for two days, which makes this a nice make-ahead dessert. When the two days are up, you whip some more cream and frost that sucker, then top with fresh fruit.

In retrospect those peaches look a little off-center to me. Yes, I'm obsessing. No, I don't have a problem with that.

The end result is a rich, sweet dessert, damp but not soggy, that tastes more like a pudding than a cake. All of my comrades in this gustatory expedition agreed that the cake was delicious. I thought so, too, although I wondered what a teaspoon or two of vanilla might do to add a litttle more depth of flavor.

 

 

Tres Chic Tres Leches Cake

From The Lady Had Seconds

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz.) condensed milk
My add-in: 1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipping cream, divided
Assorted tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, starfruit, coconut) as garnish (Or just use whatever in-season fruit you like...we used peaches and blueberries)

Directions

Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy; beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. (I guess this is the part where I'd add the vanilla if I were to do this again.) Mix in combined flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour batter in greased and floured 9-inch springform pan.

Bake at 350 degrees until cake is golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

About 5 minutes before cake is done, combine milks and 1 cup whipping cream in a 4-cup glass measure. Immediately after removing cake from oven, pierce cake with long-tined fork or skewer and pour milk mixture over it; cool. Refrigerate, tightly covered with aluminum foil, for 2 days.

Remove side of springform pan; place cake on serving plate. Whip remaining 1 cup whipping cream to stiff peaks and spread over top of cake. Garnish with fruit; spoon additional fruit over each slice if desired. Cake can be refrigerated up to 6 days.

Happy Birthday, Patricia!