Tres Leches

The weather this weekend in New York was fantastic. The sun was shining, we got some rain Saturday night, but then the sun was back out in full force on Sunday. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weekend. With the sun shining and the birds singing we had to kick off grilling season. We grilled chicken wings as an appetizer and chicken thighs as the main dish. We had a side of fresh asparagus. To cool us off after the meal we had Tres Leches cake.

I hadn't ever had Tres Leches before, and I didn't even really know what to expect. All I knew about it was that it is a vanilla cake soaked in 3 different milks. In general when I don't know much about a type of food, I rely on Alton Brown's expertise to teach me. This situation was no different, I looked at a couple of different recipes but stuck with his recipe in the end.


Tres Leches Cake:
Adapted from Alton Brown:

Ingredients:
Cake:
6 3/4 ounces all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
15 ounces half and half

Topping:
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Cake:
Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. In a bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and beat until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla, and beat until lighter in color. Slowly add in dry ingredients, stirring with wooden spoon until just combined. Spread into greased 9x13 pan, it seems like not enough batter, but it poofs nicely. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool for 30 minutes. Poke holes all over the cake using skewers or a fork.

Glaze:
Mix together the milks and pour over cooled cake. Refrigerate the cake over night.

Topping:
Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks, and add sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks. Spread evenly on the top of the cake and serve immediately.