I grew up eating Tres Leches cake at every Quinceañera or any other big Mexican celebration.  I enjoyed every bite of this yumminess!  Mi mami would always ask me to bring  her a piece of cake from whatever party I was at, because she couldn’t attend. I used to think this was weird and a little embarassing to have to ask the hostess for a piece of cake for my mom.  Later in life, when I worked with  newly arrived hispanic immigrants and we would have a party, it never failed that a little boy or girl would ask me for a piece of cake for their mother.  I was relieved to discover that I was not the only one!

This Mini Tres Leches Cake, is a recipe I came up with because I love all things simple, especially since I have three growing boys running around mi casa! Another of my favorite simplified favorites is this Healthy and Easy Fried Icecream Balls!

Mini Tres Leches Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

1 loaf of pound cake, cubed or your favorite vanilla cake
1/2 cp sweet condensed milk
1/2 cp evaporated milk
1/4 cp whole milk/heavy cream/coconut mil
Strawberries sliced

Frosting:
2cps heavy cream
3 tbl of sugar

Directions:

1. Place the 3 milks in a bowl and mix until the sweet condensed milk is fully mixed in with the other milks.
2. Place cubed cake pieces in cups and pierce the surface of the cake all over with a toothpick. Slowly drizzle all the milk mixture over the top of the cake, making sure to get around the edges of the cake. Top with frosting in between layers.
3. Place strawberries on top
4. Add another layer of pound cake and repeat steps 1 & 2.
5. Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture.  Cool in fridge or serve immediately.

For Frosting
Whip 2 cups of the heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar until thick and stiff peaks form. Spread over the top of each layer and top with a strawberry or cherry. Or you can use whip cream instead of the frosting.

Traditional pastel de tres leches, or three milks cake calls for condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk. In many Latin American countries, this cake is a must at weddings and quinceañeras and paired with seasonal fruit and nuts.  It’s dense, moist, fluffy and sweet; a perfect combination to showcase at celebrations and family gatherings.   Many bakers add rum, cognac or rompope to the milk mixture to balance out the sugar.  I went a step further and drizzled it with dulce de leche (cajeta or caramel ice cream topping).

Ingredients

• Cooking spray (or butter for greasing)
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 – 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 – 12oz can evaporated milk
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp dark rum or Rompope (optional)
• 1/3 cup dulce de leche (or caramel ice cream topping)
• 1/3 cup almonds, chopped
• 10-12 strawberries sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray or butter a 9×13-inch baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Separately beat eggs and ¾ cup of sugar until thick.  Add vanilla and flour mixture and mix on low speed until well combined, fold in melted butter.

Pour batter on baking dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden.  Test by inserting a toothpick in center and toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven.

In a medium bowl, combine milks and whisk until well combined.

Place cake on a deep serving tray and gently poke holes with wooden skewer or fork.  Pour milk mixture evenly, making sure liquid makes its way into the holes.  Continue to let cake cool.

Whip cream and ¼ cup sugar (and dark rum, optional) until peaks form.  Frost cake with whipped cream, top with almonds, drizzled dulce de leche (or caramel ice cream topping) and sliced strawberries.