Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 eggs
- 2 2/3 cups sugar plus 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon vanilla plus 1 teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups condensed milk
- 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
- 1 cup whipping cream plus 1 cup
- Assorted fruit for decoration
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan wIth parchment paper.
- In a standing mixer, beat the eggs with 2 2/3 cups of the sugar until light in color and thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon vanilla and the almond extract.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the egg and sugar mixture, alternating with the milk. Fold gently and do not overmix.
- Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, and cake just starts to spring back to the touch.
- Whisk together the condensed milk, the evaporated milk and the cream, and pour over the hot cake.
- Let cake cool.
- Beat remaining cup of whipping cream with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with the whipped cream.
- Leaving cake in pan, decorate surface of cake with whipped cream, then top with fruit. Chill for several hours or overnight.
- Serve chilled.
To make individual servings: When the cake comes out of the oven, cut circles of cake with a biscuit or cookie cutter to fit individual serving dish. Soak cake circles with the milk mixture and let cool. Decorate with whipped cream and fruit and refrigerate.
Tip: Tres Leches cake is also delicious served with an italian meringue topping, as in this recipe for quick and easy tres leches cake.
p]A note about baking pans: Tres Leches is often served out right of the pan, but there are certain occasions like birthdays where you might want a more attractive presentation. You can bake the cake in 2 round cake layer pans, but once they are out of the oven, give them at least 12 hours to soak up the milk while the cakes are still in the pans, in the refrigerator. Once they have soaked up all the milk and are very well chilled, you can unmold them, and ice them with the italian meringue or whipped cream. It helps to line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. Another possibility is to bake the cake in a 10 inch springform pan, and then remove the band around the cake once it is well chilled and has absorbed the milk.
