Sometimes you have to still eat cake...

So we have been eating pretty healthy. Maybe its time for a treat!
About ten years ago my Mom made this cake. She is now and always will be one of my biggest inspirations. But even the best fall down sometimes, or so we thought ... When she made this we were all a bit confused. The cake was wet, sitting in a pool of milky liquid and smelled like a sweet bowl of frosted flakes that was down to it's last spoonful and soggy.
We all ate it while looking at each other and wondering to ourselves if she had made a little mistake in the baking process. To our delight she did not. This was one of the best cakes she had ever made. To this day I will search it out and never turn down a Luxurious piece ever!
So for the first time I tried my hand at making it. The baking level is difficult. But I did it and I am no rocket scientist in the kitchen. So I say GO FOR IT! I'm sure glad I did:)
Enjoy this glorious day!
Celeste


Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake), Latin America

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002
Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: Latin Flavors

Tres leche cake

Ingredients
Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream topping:
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
Icing:
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites
1 ripe mango, peeled, seed removed, and thinly sliced
1 ripe papaya, peeled, seeds removed, and thinly sliced
Directions
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and peak to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.
Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden, 25 minutes.
To make the cream topping: In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend on high speed.
Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, poke holes with a fork all over the top and pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
To make the icing: Once the cake is completely chilled, in a saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 to 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. While beating, add the hot syrup in a stream. Beat until all the syrup has been added, the mixture cools, and a glossy icing forms.
To assemble: Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread the icing evenly across the top. Arrange the mango and papaya slices over the top and serve.
Rated 5 stars out of 5

Total Time:
2 hr 4 min
Prep
1 hr 0 min
Inactive
4 min
Cook
1 hr 0 min
Yield:
1 cake, about 10 serving