Tres Leches Cake

Last week, I went to what was possibly the last Houston Dining for Women with the med school gang.  I know I have mentioned Dining for Women in the past, but I don't know if I have been overly specific about what it is exactly.  It is a nonprofit organization that selects other non-profits benefiting women to donate money to.  Essentially, all of the money raised by Dining for Women is done so at small group dinners in which women bring food to the dinner (pot luck style) instead of going out and use the money that they would have spent going out on a non-profit organization.  This month's nonprofit was a group called INMED.  More information can be found: Here at Inmed.org.  Our Houston Dining for Women group has been meeting for about a year and a half and has been a blast thus far.  A great excuse each month to meet up with all of my girlfriends.  This upcoming Thursday, I will find out where I am going to residency, and if I match in a location other than Houston, I plan on starting or joining a Dining for Women chapter in that new city.  Who knows...I may be staying in Houston for residency, but nonetheless, I will continue to carry the Dining for Women torch with whoever is still left here with me.

The theme for this meeting was Mexican Food.  I picked a recipe given to me from my little sister.  She made this Tres Leches Cake for my grandfather's birthday and the whole family is still talking about it.  I figured that if my mom, a non-Tres Leches fan, was raving about it that this recipe had to be good.  So I had the little sis send me the recipe.

From My Sweet Mexico by Fany Gerson as seen in the SA Express News


 For the Cake:
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided use
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 eggs, separated
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For Tres Leches:
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark rum (optional)

Filling and Topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspooon vanilla
1 cup fresh chopped fruit (strawberries and/or canned peaches are commonly used)

For the Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease two (8-inch) cake pans
3. Put a circle of parchment paper on bottom of each pan.
4. Mix flour, half of sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
5. Using a whisk, beat vegetable oil, yolks, water and vanilla.
6. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks, add cream of tartar and second half of sugar and then continue beating until you reach stiff peaks but whites aren't dry.
7. Add 1/4 of the beaten whites to the yolk mixture and fold gently.
8. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture and fold gently.
9. Repeat, alternating finishing with egg whites.
10. Pour into lined pans and bake in middle rack until top springs to touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 to 35 minutes.
11. Allow to cool slightly and unmold.  Remove parchment paper and return to pans.

For Tres Leches:
1. Mix evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream, vanilla, rum and salt in medium bowl.
2. Pour half of mixture over one of the cakes and remainder over other cake.  Allow to soak in refrigerator.


For Filling and Topping:
1. Using electric mixer on medium speed, beat heavy cream till it slightly thickens.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and continue beating until it is thick and fluffy.  The whipped cream should be stable and smooth.


To Assemble Cake:
1. Remove cakes from pans and place some of the whipped cream in the center of one.
2. Put the fruit on top, making sure to spread them evenly.  Top with the other cake and cover with rest of whipped cream.
3. Decorate with fruit as desired.

 I am sure many of you did not grow up with Tres Leches Cake like I did.  I don't remember the first time I had Tres Leches cake actually.  Many people though, have never heard of it or tried it.  So a little info on the cake:
--> It is a very popular dessert in Latin America with its name meaning "Three Milks". 
--> In fact in South Texas, it is many people's favorite dessert; it was my grandfather's.
--> There are rumors that Tres Leches cake was originally invented by the makers of the canned condensed milk to help promote the product in the mid 1800s and other rumors stating that its invention was helped with Nestle during WWII. 

I am going to say it.  I am not a big Tres Leches fan.  Hmmph... I said it. Tres Leches cake with all of the milk is just too rich for me.  This does not fault the recipe though.  This was a great Tres Leches cake.  Wow!  For Tres Leches I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars = goodness.  None of the cake making it out of Dining for Women= good.  Before I evaluate this cake more though, I want to tell you a little story about my own experiences with Tres Leches cake.  I made my very first Tres Leches cake two years ago for a Cinco de Mayo type event.  The cake was a semi-disaster.  Let's just say it was more of a soup than cake.  :)  There was the milk and then a thin layer of cake to go with it.  I am pleased to say that in the past two years that my baking has improved and that this Tres Leches cake was a HUGE hit.  The cake was nice and fluffy and was able to absorb ALL of the milk.  I say that the cake was milky because when you pressed on the cake, milk would slowly seep out.  This is exactly what a Tres Leches cake is suppose to do.  I am pleased with this portion of success.  The cake in the above picture looks poorly decorated and messy....this only occurred because the cake was so moist and milky it was hard to keep the icing on it!  The whipped cream icing was light and melted in your mouth.  If you like Tres Leches cake, I think you should give this recipe a whirl!