Patriotic Tres Leches Cake

Day 107

This recipe is unbelievable. I added strawberries and blueberries to the top to celebrate July 4^th, but you can add whatever you like.

If you haven’t purchased ALL of Ree Drummond’s (The Pioneer Woman) books and tried every single recipe, you’ve got some catching up to do. She’s a hoot and a delight, and the best part is that her food is the cat’s meow. Please try this one. Let me know how it turns out. Here’s the link, from her book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/tres-leches-cake/

Note: I tried this two ways, one exactly as The Pioneer Woman suggests and the second as a shortcut method. I did this just to see— for those of you who

Photo by Maggie Kapustin

aren’t interesting in from-scratch cakes and icings— if the flavor would be comparable. It’s not as good, I have to admit, but it’ll do if you’re in a pinch or if you are intimidated from a homemade cake prep. So, to really make this quick and still yummy, you can make a cake with a yellow cake mix, following the directions on the package for a 9x13 pan, but switch the water with buttermilk and add 2 tsp. of cinnamon and 1 tsp. of vanilla to the batter. You can, in a pinch, use whipped topping instead of making your own. That, though, is definitely not as good. Once the cake is baked according the package directions, follow Drummond’s recipe for making the Tres Leches.

Buen provecho!

(Patriotic) Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoons salt
5 whole eggs
1 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
1⁄3 cup milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened, condensed milk 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
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FOR THE ICING:


1 pint heavy cream, for whipping 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.
Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries*. Cut into squares and serve.

Recipe from:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/tres-leches-cake/

*I switched out the cherry topping with chopped strawberries and whole blueberries. That part is up to you!