Want some cake... Better yet, Want a REALLY GOOD CAKE?

This weekend I made a "Pastel de Tres Leches" or "Tres Leches Cake" for a friend's birthday party & it was all gone by the end of the night, I guess that's a good review. It's named for the three milks in the soaking liquid (Leche means milk in Spanish.) The three milks in the soaking sauce for Tres Leches are sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream. The heavy cream is also whipped up to use as the topping. Due to the rich ingredients and that it is soaked in a creamy syrup, Tres Leches Cake is extremely dense and moist, almost like a custard.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk

Preparation:
Combine flour and baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time until well combined. Stir in the 1/2 cup of milk, then gently fold in the flour mixture a little at a time.
Pour batter into a lightly greased cake pan or baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it feels firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool until it feels room temperature. Turn it over onto a platter with raised edges. Pierce cake throughout with a fork or chop-stick about 20-30 times. Let it cool in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes.



Cream Syrup

12 oz. evaporated milk
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon rum or brandy (optional, but I like to use rum)
Whisk together the three milks and the rum or brandy if you are using it. Slowly pour the liquid over the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Occasionally, spoon the milk runoff back onto the cake.



Whipped Topping

3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
In a chilled mixing bowl add heavy cream, vanilla and sugar. Beat on high speed until peaks form. Spread a thin layer over the cak & add toppings. In this case I used Peacans & Cajeta (almost like dulce de leche but better)





Enjoy.