Tres Leches Cake with Summer Fruit

A Tres leches cake (literally: "cake of three milks") is a cake or, rarely, a butter cake, soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and either whole milk or cream. Since butter is not often used, tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why, although it is soaked in a mixture of three types of milk, it does not have a soggy consistency.

The origins of tres leches are disputed, and are usually attributed to Mexico or Nicaragua, the two places where it appeared earliest. The idea for creating a cake soaked in a liquid is probably of European origin, as similar cakes, such as rum cake, and tiramisu, use this method.

For the Cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t. table salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the Soaking Syrup:
1 can (14 oz.) evaporated milk
1 can (12 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup light rum

For the Fruit Topping:
4 cups mixed summer fruit such as strawberries and blueberries
1/4 cup sugar

For the Whipped Cream Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 T. sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9 x 3" springform pan with nonstick spray. If your springform pan isn't 3" tall, a 2" high pan will work fine here too.

To make the cake, Beat eggs and sugar with a hand mixer at high speed in a large bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Beat until the eggs are pale, thick, and tripled in volume, about 10 minutes.

Add vanilla; remove bowl from the heat and continue to beat until cool, about 5 more minutes.

Sift flour and salt. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour into the egg mixture; fold gently. Fold in remaining flour in two additions.

Combine melted butter and 1 cup batter in a small bowl. When blended, add the mixture back to the remaining batter and gently fold to blend. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30-40 min., or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then pour milk syrup over (see next steps below).

To make the soaking syrup, combine all milks and rum in a measuring cup with a pour spout while the cake bakes. Transfer half of the milk mixture (2 cups) to a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Stir mixture constantly to prevent scorching. Stir reduced milk into remaining 2 cups milk mixture (for a total of 3 cups). Set milk syrup aside.

After cooling the cake 10 minutes, place it on a baking sheet (to catch drips from the milk), then poke holes in it with a skewer. Rewarm the milk mixture, if necessary, then pour it over the cake, allowing it to soak in before adding more. Use all the milk, even though it won't seem like the cake will absorb it. Drape wax paper over the cake (plastic wrap causes condensation) and chill.

To make the fruit topping, combine the fruit and sugar in a large bowl. It only needs to macerate for about 30 minutes. Longer than that and the fruit will start to turn mushy, losing its fresh look.

To make the whipped cream topping, whip cream and 3 T. sugar together in a bowl until soft peaks form.

When ready to serve cake, remove sides of pan, then top with fruit. Slice cake and serve with whipped cream on the side.

Yield: One 9 inch cake
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus chilling