Tres Leches

Ingredients

Tres Leches Milk:

• 2 cups chilled Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk, recipe follows
• 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk

Cake:

• 9 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• Whipped cream, for serving
• Fruit sauces, for serving

Directions

Combine Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk and reserve in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour a 10 by 3-inch round cake pan.

Put the eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar into a 5-quart mixer bowl. Place the bottom of the bowl directly into a larger bowl of hot tap water and whisk the egg mixture until warm to the touch. Remove the bowl from the water and put it on the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat at medium speed until the egg mixture almost starts to flow over the edge of the bowl.

Meanwhile, using a sieve, sift the flour twice, then put it back into the sieve. Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift the flour for a third time into the whipped egg mixture while folding very gently yet thoroughly. Pour the finished batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until cake bounces back when pressed in center, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely.

When the cake is cool, remove it from the pan and trim off the browned top, bottom, and side surfaces of the cake. Clean the cake pan and line it with two long, crisscrossed pieces of plastic wrap. Return the cake to the pan and slowly pour the Tres Leches Milk over the cake. Fold the ends of the plastic wrap over the top of the cake to enclose it completely; refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, unwrap the cake and turn it upside down onto a 10-inch plate with upturned edges to catch any excess milk. Pipe the whipped cream on top of the cake and serve ice cold accompanied by a fruit sauce or two such as passionfruit, mango, or raspberry.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk:

2 cups nonfat milk

2 cups whole milk

3 tablespoons sugar

Pour the milks into a medium heavy saucepan and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sugar and continue simmering until reduced to 2 cups. Strain into a container and refrigerate as long as a week.

Yield: 2 cups