I've been on a cake binge lately. Partly driven by the fact that I am trying to cut back on junk food and told myself that I had to make my own. Here's this weekend's recipe:
Tres Leches Cake
Cake:
- 6.75 oz cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 8 oz white sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. With the mixer on low, add the eggs allowing each one to incorporate before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 until the internal temperature is 200F - about 20 minutes.
3 milks:
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 c half and half
When the cake comes out of the oven, set aside and allow to cool completely. While waiting, whisk the three milks together. Prodigiously poke the cake full of holes with a chopstick or something to that effect. Pour the milks over the cake and allow to sit overnight in the fridge to ensure everything is soaked up.
Topping:
- 2 c heavy cream
- 6 oz white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
Place the whisk and mixing bowl in the freezer and allow to cool. Pour about half a cup of the cream into a metal measuring cup or small metal bowl. Sprinkle in the gelatin and allow to sit for a few minutes. Gently heat over a low flame until dissolved, being careful not to bring to a full boil. Pour the cream and gelatin into the mixer and begin to whisk while adding the sugar and vanilla. Whisk on medium-high until thick. You can 'ice' the cake with the whipped topping, but I prefer to allow the topping to set in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight with the rest of the cake) and serve the cake slices with a hefty dollop of cream on top.