The cake part of the Tres Leche cake finally turned out! The recipe called for a 9 inch springform pan. I only had a 10 inch springform which I was afraid to use for fear of another cake with no height. So, I used a regular 8 inch non-stick cake pan. This cake rose so much, that I was afraid it was going to drip over the pan on to the bottom of the oven or rise until it hit the heating elements on the roof of the oven. It did neither but it did rise enough to look like a giant popup muffin! Anyway, you want a light airy cake for this recipe so that the three milk concoction can be appropriately soaked up. Due to the “popover” appearance of my cake, it was necessary for me to do some trimming around the edges providing us with some cake tasting samples…also a good thing since this was the first time I made this specific sponge cake recipe and planned to serve it guests.

The cake is going to be drenched/oversaturated in the milk mixture. I included the first picture above (prior to frosting), to illustrate that it is necessary to use a little bit of a deep serving dish as the milk mixture will pool a little at the bottom of the cake. Oh, and I added a tiny bit of cinnamon to the milk mixture as well. When Victor and I had this cake at La Seranato on Pico Blvd here in LA, there seemed to be a hint of cinnamon which I liked.

Tres Leches from AllRecipes.com

1 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
5 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bottom of 9 inch springform pan.
Beat egg yolk with 3/4 cup of sugar until light in color and double in volume. Stir in milk, vanilla, flour and baking powder.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Beat until firm but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into prepared egg yolk mixture. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 – 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Loosen the edge of cake from pan before removing cake from pan (or removing sides of pan if using a springform). Cool cake completely.
Transfer cake to a serving plate which has some depth. Using a 2 prong meat tester or fork, pierce the surface of the cake many times, all over.
Mix together condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup of whipping cream. Slowly pour over cake allowing the cake to absorb the mixture. Don’t feel obligated to pour all of the mixture over the cake if it seems like too much but do be generous as the cake is meant to be overly saturated with liquid (liquid will be visible around the bottom of the cake). Cover cake and refrigerate. Check the cake in about an hour or so and pour any remaining milk mixture if necessary.
Whip the remaining whipping cream until it reaches spreading consistency and spread over the cake. Feel free to garnish with fresh berries or cherries, etc. Keep cake refrigerated until serving.