Tres Leches Cake (Vanilla or Chocolate)

For those of you not familiar, this is a traditional Mexican cake, made of 3 different types of milk.  It's quite airy and damp and full of flavor.  You can make the cake from scratch but I've tried it both ways and you really can't tell the difference, so if you're in the mood to skip a step, follow this version below!

Directions:

1 cake mix (vanilla is traditional, chocolate is also good, see tips below)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 To begin, prepare cake as directed on back of package, in a 9 x 13 cake pan.  When the cake is still hot, pierce all over about a dozen times with a fork.  Then let the cake cool.

Next, combine 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, the condensed milk, and the evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.  At this point you could also add a liqueur if desired, see below for directions.

At this point you need to let the cake refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or all night, to let the milks soak in.

Once the cake has been refrigerated long enough, whip the other 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, the sugar, and the vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake, and refrigerate until serving.

Tips:

The most common version of this cake is the vanilla one below, and it is often served with a cherry on top, as pictured.  However, you can definitely play around with the flavors, and serve it with any kind of fruit on top, or chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, etc.  You can also add about 1/4 cup of any flavored liqueur (Kahlua, rum, triple sec) to the milks to give the cake a different flavor.  I have made both the traditional one, and a chocolate Kahlua version, with chocolate shavings.  Enjoy!