Tres Leches Cake – Mexican Dessert Recipe

Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking dish of about 20x32 cm/ 8x12 inches (a couple of inches more or less would be OK).
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat egg whites: Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add about 50 g/ 1.8 oz/ ¼ cup of the sugar and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Set aside.
4. Batter: Beat the egg yolks and remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and incorporate. Pour the mixture over the flour and fold in gently. Fold in the egg whites as well.
5. Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and make sure the layer is even. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool entirely without removing it from the baking dish.

Topping:

1. Soak cake: When the cake is cool, poke it all over with a fork. Mix the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk, and slowly pour the mixture all over the cake in the baking dish, making sure you reach all the edges and corners.
2. Chill: Cover the baking dish with cling film and refrigerate the cake for several hours or overnight, to make sure the milk is completely absorbed by the cake.
3. Topping: Whip the heavy cream adding sugar to taste. Spread the cream on the cake in an even layer and top with crushed freeze-dried strawberries, if desired. Fresh strawberry slices or raspberries would be great as well.