Tres Leches Cake~

My daughter, Katie, turned 22 today…and, of course, she got to request her favorite dinner and birthday dessert. She fell in love with a Tres Leches cake I made a couple years ago…the rest of us thought it was OK, but she adored it! So, much as I tried to ignore this request, I went ahead and made Alton Brown’s version with a few strawberries to garnish….just to make it pretty. Pretty darn tasty, I have to admit!

Tres Leches Cake…adapted from Alton Brown

6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra to dust the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

Glaze:
1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
1 cup half and half

Topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whip It (optional…this stabilizes whipping cream so it doesn’t separate)

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour 9 x 13 pan.

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.

Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy on medium speed. Decrease to low and add sugar slowly. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing till well combined. Add vanilla and mix.

Add dry ingredients in three batches and mix till just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth top. Bake in the middle of your oven for 20-25 minutes.

Remove and cool for a half hour. Poke top of cake with fork or skewer. Allow cake to completely cool.

Make glaze by whisking the milks and half and half. Slowly pour over cake and refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, make topping by whipping heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and Whip It (if using) till stiff peaks form. Decrease mixer to medium and continue whipping till thick. Spread topping over cake and refrigerate till serving. May garnish with sliced strawberries.

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