For the Love of Leftovers: April 2012

Hola amigos. This recipe is from Sandre Lee, aka the cute matchy matchy lady. Koa and I were watching Food Network one day and she whipped this up at the end of her episode. Once I saw it, I knew I had to make it so I headed straight for the dairy section. Her meals are very economical and equally tasty, but this one is not so much on the skinny side. Tres Leches= Three Milks. Basically it's a good splurge dessert for when you get together with your friends (more specifically, your girlfriends on Monday nights)!

Ingredients
1 box Yellow Cake Mix
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk (divided: 1 cup and remaining)
⅓ cup canola oil
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1¼ cups heavy cream (divided: 1 cup and ¼ cup)
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup toasted coconut (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9x13 dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place a medium glass mixing bowl in the freezer.
2. In a large bowl combine the cake mix, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, oil, and eggs. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth.

3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes (until an inserted toothpick comes out clean). Let cool.
4. In another bowl, whisk together (uno) the sweetened condensed milk, (dos) the remaining evaporated milk, and (tres) ¼ cup of cream. Notice...tres leches.

5. Once the cake has cooled for about 10 minutes (or more), use a fork to poke holes all over the cake. Go ahead, have at it.

6. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake.

7. Place cake in the fridge until the cake absorbs the liquid, at least one hour or overnight.

8. When you are ready to serve, using the bowl from the freezer, combine the remaining cream and vanilla. Beat with an electric hand mixer on high speed until the cream holds soft peaks. You could also use whipped cream from the store but it is sweet and this topping is not. The cake is sweet enough you shouldn't need the added sweetness of cool whip.