A Birthday and a Cake (Vol. 3)

For the past two years, we've rung in husby's birthday with a homemade dinner and cake, and this year was no exception! (See cakes from years past here and here.)

This year, I went with a Tres Leches cake, one of husby's favorites! If you've never had a Tres Leches cake, it uses exactly what it claims - three different kinds of milk. The actual cake is soaked in this mixture, which makes it ridiculously moist. We all gave it a thumbs-up!

I just couldn't be more grateful for this birthday guy. He's caring, protective, loyal, engaged, and still hands-down the most intelligent person I know. He takes the best care of his little family (keeping us calm during a nine-hour flight delay), takes charge in crises (literally putting out fires), and has an incredible work ethic (someone just earned million miler status for all his business travel!). I couldn't be luckier to call him my husband. Cheers to his thirty-five years! 

Tres Leches Cake (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

• 5 whole Eggs

• 1 cup Sugar, Divided

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

• 1/3 cup Milk

• 1 can Evaporated Milk

• 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk

• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream

•  _____

•  FOR THE ICING:

• 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping

• 3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. Spread over the surface of the cake. Cut into squares and enjoy!

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