Tres Leche Cake (Three Milk)

We tasted this amazing cake for the first time in Maui earlier this year. The hubs asked the caterer what this delicious cake was & even asked her for the recipe so we, or I should say I, could make it at home. Its been on the "must make" list for awhile, but I just hadn't made the time. So I asked the hubs "Chocolate Molten Cake or Tres Leche?" Winner: Tres Leche.

I will say I was worried about making this. When the food network difficulty rating is "Expert" I start to worry. I will say, I would never had made this without my Kitchen Aid. I don't think I could have stood still long enough to beat the eggs to their nice peaks.

Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream topping:
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and set aside. (I used a smaller rectangle pan & a muffin tin, b/c I wanted individual cakes for presentation)
In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden, 25 minutes.

To make the cream topping: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend on high speed.

Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Now some recipes have you use a light frosting for the top. In Maui, we had whipped cream. I hadn't ever made my own whip cream, but with the leftover heavy cream I had, I thought, why not? I looked for a Giada recipe, knowing I had seen her on TV last Wednesday making her own whipped cream & saying how easy it was. And she was right, it was easy and delicious!

Homemade Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks. Add the vanilla extract and confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks.

*I"ll definitely be using this recipe for future desserts.

I put the whipped cream into a zip-loc bag, cut off a small piece of the corner & topped the Tres Leche cake.