How to Bake Tres Leches Cake

Serves: 12-16

Preparation time: 45 mins + 10 hrs (inactive)

Cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients needed to make tres leches cake:

• 1 regular white cake mix, double layer size
• 6 eggs
• 5 cups Tres Leches mixture (recipe below)
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp lime peel, finely shredded

For the tres leches mixture:

• 2 cups milk
• 2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cans (12 oz) evaporated milk

Cooking instructions for tres leches cake:

•  To make the tres leches mixture, pour all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat them over moderate flame until it begins to boil while stirring often.
• Once it thickens considerably, remove from heat and pour it into a large bowl.
• Put a lid on and set aside to cool to room temperature while you make the cake.
• Warm up your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly oil a 10’’ springform pan with butter and dust the bottom with flour; keep it aside.
• Empty the pack of cake mix into a large mixing bowl and add butter as well as water to it.
• Beat the eggs slightly in a separate bowl and pour it into the cake mix.
• Beat the mixture with an electric mixer at moderate speed for a couple of minutes or until you get a smooth, thick batter.
• Sprinkle the lime peel and stir them into the batter before pouring it into the prepared mold.
• Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes to an hour or until a skewer inserted through the centre of the cake comes out spotless.
• Leave the cake on the wire rack for about 15 minutes to cool completely.
• Run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to free them from the pan and remove its sides.
• Insert a wide metal spatula across the bottom of the cake and lift it up to the wire rack to cool to room temperature.
• Line a 11’’ wide container with a plastic sheet, so that they hang out from the sides.
• Slice the cake longitudinally into two equal halves and place the top half into the above container, with the cut side facing up.
• Arrange the chopped strawberries across it and cover it up with the bottom half of the cake, with the cut side facing down.
• Press the top slightly and poke holes all over its surface with a wooden skewer or fork.
• Smother it with 4 cups of the tres leches mixture, cover and leave it in the fridge to chill for about 8-12 hours to chill.
• Pour rest of the tres leches blend over it, cover with a plastic wrap and chill it further till the serving time arrives.
• Whisk the whipping cream, vanilla and sugar together with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks.
• Uncover the cake and place a serving plate on top of the container.
• Flip to demold and cover the sides as well as surface of the cake with the sweetened whipped cream.
• Slice and serve right away.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons