Tres leches cake

For the cake:

2 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

9 eggs (separated)

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup milk

 

Milk mixture:

2 cups half and half (or whole milk)

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

 

Topping:

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

jar of maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a 9x13-inch baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar on high speed until creamy. Add the milk and vanilla, and then the remaining dry ingredients (small amounts at a time) and blend at a lower speed until creamy. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (2-3 minutes). Gently fold the egg white mixture into the batter until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-45 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Remove and let cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the half and half, condensed milk and evaporated milk. Set aside. With a fork or skewer, pierce top of cake several times. Pour the milk mixture over the cake until it is finished absorbing. Save any remaining mixture for garnish. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Just before serving, beat the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla (in a mixing bowl) until fluffy. Spread over cake. Top each piece off with a maraschino cherry.