Coffee and Dessert - Tres Leches Cake with Berries

This recipe for Tres Leches Cake (three milks cake) is from Ina Garten's Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. It can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 5 days. Total time to prepare is about an hour and twenty minutes, but it's very easy to make. I recently prepared this dessert for company and it was a big hit. As one friend said, it tastes like I want more. The recipe calls for sliced strawberries, but any of your favorite berries would work well.

Tres Leches Cake with Berries

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup plus 5 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

1-1/4 cups heavy cream

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

seeds scraped from one vanilla bean (I used vanilla extract)

8 cups sliced fresh strawberries, for serving

Sifted confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Whipped cream, for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl and set aside. Place the eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar and the vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 10 minutes (really!) until light yellow and fluffy (I used my hand mixer). Reduce the speed to low and slowly add half the flour mixture, then the milk and finally the remaining flour mixture. Mix with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 25 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched lightly in the middle and a cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

3. In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, almond extract and vanilla seeds. Using a bamboo skewer, poke holes all over the cooled cake and slowly pour the mixture over the cake, allowing it to absorbed completely before continuing to pour on more of the mixture. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.

4. To serve, toss the strawberries with the 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar, cut in squares and place on desert plates, Surround the cake with the strawberries, put a dollop of whipped cream on top and serve.