Today, the day after Christmas, we went to our daughter's house in Fort Worth and I was to bring a dessert and she put in a special request for a Tres Leche Cake.

This is one of my very favorite cakes as it is easy to make and is so moist and sinfully delicious.
The recipe originated in the 1960's and could be found on the back of the Nestle can of evaporated milk.
It is very popular in Central and South America as well as in the Caribbean from what I have read.

It is quite simply, a spongecake that is soaked with three milks... evaporated, half and half, and condensed milk, and topped with whipped cream.

Make the cake a day before you want to serve it, but I prefer to make the whipped cream the day I will serve it.

When you take the cake out of the oven, it will look very flat and unappealing but when the three milks soak into the cake,
it will plump up considerably... so do not think you have done something wrong.

I use Alton Brown's recipe and your ingredients will need to be weighed.

And how do you pronounce it? "Trey Lay Chay"

For the Cake:

VEGETABLE OIL
6 3/4 ounces CAKE FLOUR, plus more for the pan
1 tsp. BAKING POWDER
1/2 tsp. KOSHER SALT
4 ounces UNSALTED BUTTER, at room temperature
8 ounces SUGAR
5 large EGGS
1 1/2 tsp. VANILLA

For the Glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can EVAPORATED MILK
1 (14-ounce) can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
1 cup HALF-AND-HALF

For the Topping:
2 cups HEAVY CREAM
8 ounces SUGAR
1 tsp. VANILLA

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute.
Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute.
Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time and mix to thoroughly combine.
Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
Poke the top of the cake all over with a fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a quart measuring cup.
Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake.
Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed.
Change to medium speed and whisk until thick.
Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I like to serve the cake topped with fresh fruit.